Azure Paler than the Sky
by Her Sweetness
Summary: Songs for a Kingdom Now Lost sequel. In their Junior year at Irai, the competition in being L's apprentice is taking its toll on Mello and Near's relationship. Not just the position, but L himself, who is falling victim to Near's... hormones? L x M x N.
1. Prolouge

_A/N: __… Well? I promised a sequel didn't I? XD Don't stare at me like that. Anyway, here we have another school year at Irai. You won't be seeing their summer vacation but it'll be referenced throughout the story, I'm guessing. _

-

**Azure Paler than the Sky.**

**one.**

The boys arrived back on campus in August right after the height of the summer heat was settling in. The lawns of Irai were all brown and dingy and the inexperienced groundskeepers had little idea of what to do about it, already getting berated by some of the older alumni about keeping a proud-looking school. The sky was clear as ever, lacking clouds and pouring sunshine down on the poor groundskeepers' heads as they worked out in the fields, repairing the grass.

When the red corvette pulled up into the school's front parking lot, Matt was distracted by Mello's constant whining about rap music and drove up too far, missing the bump and going onto the grass. Good thing it was already dead.

"-it's fucking annoying! 'Baby mamma' this and 'fine bitch' that! I've heard it for two months-"

The car lurched forward.

"Shit," Matt cried as the front tires stumbled over the curb. The car stopped on a dime and everything bounced, shifting around in the backseat, a small cry coming from it. Matt blinked and looked back along with Mello to see Near being violently attacked by a Gamecube and its wires.

Mello rolled his eyes. "See, this is why you don't bring that shit on a road trip. Near, are you all right?"

"Y-Yes, I'm fine," he said feebly, still fighting for his life.

"See?" Matt shrugged and smirked. "He's fine!"

Mello snorted, "Still-"

"I would appreciate assistance, however…" Near muttered.

"… Right, coming."

The doors opened on either side and Mello got out first, coming around to open up Near's door. He leaned inside and pushed the systems off of the younger teen and backed up so that Near could get out. The two older boys went to the trunk to see what the damage was, that is to say, how much crap they had to carry upstairs. Upon opening it up, Matt whistled and Mello groaned.

"Look at all this," he shouted, unbelieving, "how did you get enough money to buy all these souvenirs, anyway, huh? When we don't even have enough money to buy shampoo and deodorant!"

"I dipped into our scholarship funds," Matt explained, scratching the back of his head.

Mello's left eye twitched horribly. "Just wait until I get you alone, Matt."

"Heh," Matt leered and leaned over. "Oh, Mello, so naughty."

"Shut up!" He reddened and looked over at Near to see if he had heard.

But Near hadn't heard. He stood by the open door of the car and looked up at the large building some yards in front of him. It was good to be back after so long of traveling all of Japan and with the prospect of spending a complete year here, the happiness he felt was completely engulfing him. To see Irai Academy in the midst of autumn and then winter would be nice as Near had an affinity for snow. And to spend another year as L's student, to learn more and more, was an amazing prospect in itself.

_He's probably in his rooms now_, Near thought just as Mello walked by him, holding a stack of Matt's needless memorabilia. He grunted as he walked and Near took a step forward, calling, "Can I help?"

Mello stopped and looked over his shoulder, smirking a little. "No, you don't have to carry anything."

"Oh… but-"

"Gangway!" Matt shouted and Near turned around just in time to be mowed over by Matt stampeding past with more than was humanly possible to carry. Mello jumped out of the way and onto the hood of the car as Matt raced up into the building. When he was out of sight, both Mello and Near heard distant screams of females that Matt had probably scared the living daylights out of.

"Jesus!" Mello sighed and got back on his feet. He looked over and found Near grabbing at his chest and breathing heavily. Mello laughed, "Are you all right?"

"Mm… mmhmm." Near walked forward and held out his arms. "Please, let me be of use."

There was a pause before Mello nodded and lifted a game controller from the top of his stack and placed it in Near's cupped hands.

Near blinked down at it and frowned. "Mello, I can carry more," he said, feeling a little ridiculed.

Mello laughed suddenly and leaned in, pressing a firm kiss to Near's warm forehead. Near sighed at the contact and let his hands droop a little, dropping the controller to the concrete and gasping, scrambling down to retrieve it. Mello walked away, saying, "Looks like you've got your hands full with that. Come upstairs when you're ready."

Near sighed and fumbled with the thing. He was right behind Mello in a few minutes and the two of them walked like goose and gosling in a small line through the hallways. The sound of their shoes echoes through the concrete all around them and it sounded familiar, like a noise Near had heard a long time ago. And it seemed like a long time ago, too.

And out of nowhere, it seemed, Mello asked, "Did you have fun?"

He didn't look back at Near or anything, just expected an answer. Near nodded eagerly even though Mello couldn't see it. "Yes, it was more than fun, really."

"Good, because you need to chip in for gas money."

Near blinked, surprised. "O-Oh, okay, I-"

"I was kidding," Mello groaned but there was a smile in his voice.

Near blushed slightly and looked down at his feet.

"You know," Mello said, "I bet Matt's feeling pretty damn stupid right about now."

"… Why?"

They made it up to the third floor of their building and went down the hallway when they found their dorm rooms, across from each other, and Matt, who was sitting outside of his and Mello's room with his pile of items in disarray around him. He was panting and sweating and looked up to find Mello laughing at him and waving their cardkey.

"Ha ha, very funny," Matt grumbled.

"Yeah, I thought so," Mello said as he slid the key down the pad. There was a click heard deep within the turnings of the lock and Mello was able to open the door. Matt stood up with him as the door opened wide and the two of them walked in first, paused a second, and continued on with two completely different facial expressions.

"Agh! Good Lord, it smells awful," Mello cried, dropping his stuff and holding his nose.

Matt embraced the dust-covered furniture and mothball scent of the apartment. "Home, sweet home! Mel, what's wrong with you? Insulting our little paradise like that."

"Paradise my ass, it smells like someone died in here."

"Yeah, well, besides that… Hey, where's Near?"

Mello looked behind him and saw no one there and, in a second, Near reappeared after having made a quick trip to his own dorm room across the hall. He held his nose lightly with one hand and used the other to spray a lilac air freshener all around.

Mello nodded proudly, holding his nose as well. "Good job, Near."

Matt looked offended. "Right, Near, way to side with unsentimental guy!"

Near wandered around the living room area and then into the small hallway with his ammo. "There is a difference between the comforting smell of home and an overpowering stench, Matt. This is unfortunately the latter…" He stopped then, taking his can down from the sky and breathing in deeply to test if he had completed his self-appointed task. He wandered to the kitchenette as Matt and Mello began to pull things in from the hallway and looked at all of the dust covering the counters.

He inched towards the refrigerator and, suddenly, an unsettling expression crossed his face. He sniffed curiously at the fridge door and frowned deeply. _What… what is that?_ he wondered and gingerly continued with his investigation, opening the door and immediately letting out an alarmed sound at the foul odor that came floating towards him.

"Near?" came Mello's voice. "Was that you?"

"Please, come quickly," Near called, shying away from the contents of the fridge.

Both older teens came into the kitchenette, thinking there would be a cockroach attacking little Near but when they dipped their heads inside, they gasped in disgust at the jug of milk that was green and blue and overflowing with mold, attaching itself to the sides of the shelves.

Mello looked outraged and whipped his head around to Matt. "_This _is the smell of home, huh? You're sick!"

Matt giggled nervously. "Well, I… uh… I'll clean it…"

"Stop laughing!"

-

A week later, the twenty-fourth arrived and that was the first time the six of them were able to get together again. Near had walked into Matt and Mello's room on evening to complete darkness and when he clicked the light on, Matsuda popped out of nowhere and nearly gave the boy a heart attack. L and Raito had both told Matsuda not to scream so loud but he had apparently forgotten. He was forgiven, however, and quite quickly for having made such an exquisite cake for Near's party. It was triple layered, chocolate, with little ghost sprinkles.

When asked why the ghost sprinkles, Matsuda explained they were leftovers from the previous Halloween. That answer was dully accepted.

"One, two, three… Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Near, happy birthday to you!"

Near blushed away from all of the attention until, of course, Mello leant over and pressed their lips together, gathering Near in his arms so that he couldn't wiggle away.

Matsuda giggled excitedly and clapped, L ignored the two lovers and pressed an inquisitive finger into the cake, Matt made obscene noises and Raito, who had his arm around Matt on the couch, rolled his eyes. "Aw, come on, get a room," he groaned, averting his eyes.

Mello took a breath to say, "We're _in _our room, where's _yours_?"

"I don't need-"

Matt silenced him by placing his lips against Raito's and distracted him that way. Mello went back to Near and Matsuda suddenly felt a little odd, standing there amidst the couples without anyone of his own. He looked over at L who was highly intrigued by the cake and already cutting a large slice.

Matsuda cleared his throat. "Ahem… we'll this is awkward, huh, L?"

L looked up mildly. "How so?"

"… Uh, never mind…"

Near let out a small squeak when Mello's hands began to wander and he pulled away from the blond, just long enough to say, "_Mello_, later, later…"

Mello sighed and eased off of him, only to find L munching happily on the bed.

"Hey," Mello whined, examining the cake, "did you have two slices _already_?"

"No," he said over his full mouth, "I have merely had one. I will be coming back, however."

"… _One_?" Mello screeched.

"Ahem," Raito said, garnering attention. Everyone was surprised to see him without Matt down his throat. "I guess it's time for Near to open his presents now."

"Oh." Mello blinked. "Right."

Near looked around, startled. "I have presents…? Really, you shouldn't have."

"Nonsense!" Matt said loudly. He rocked himself off of the couch and reached in between the couch cushions for something small and pink. He handed it to Near with a flourish. "Here you go! It's a visual diary of our summer vacation! In high-definition."

Near blinked owlishly as he was handed the picture album. On the cover was a dancing penguin and a white kitten side-by-side with the words 'Bestest Friends'. As Near flipped it open, Mello whispered to Matt, "What's with the girly décor?"

Matt shrugged. "I got it from a Hello Kitty gift shop."

As the younger teen flipped through it, he witnessed what had happened in the past two months and all they had done. There was a picture of Mello as red as a lobster on the beach from sunburn; Matt's face all puffy from big bites; Near sleeping with his pajamas askew, revealing quite a lot; Matt and Near playing with expensive sock puppets in the Japanese House of Yarn; Near spoon feeding Mello shaved ice and as Near continued to flip through, his eyes widened.

_My very first trip with friends._

"Annnnnd," Matt drawled, taking a black picture book out of his back pocket and waving it under Near's nose, "I'll give you the pictures I took when you and Mel didn't think I was looking-"

"Gimme those!" Mello shouted, snatching them away.

Matt groaned. "Fun-spoiler!" he accused.

"My turn, my turn," Matsuda cheered, running away from the living room and into the bathroom. There was some clattering heard. "I-I wanted to hide it so you wouldn't see, Near!" The raven-haired young man came back in a second with a gigantic, pink teddy bear in his arms. He set it down in front of Near and they stood at the same height.

Near's eyes lit up. "Oh, thank you, Matsuda."

"You're welcome," he responded, smiling. "I noticed how much you seemed to like stuffed animals, so I went and got this at the maternity ward gift shop in the hospital a few towns over."

Everyone sweatdropped.

Near smiled anyway and went to hug his new bear. However, something hard contacted with the side of his head and he looked up to find a CD case tied up in the bear's bow. Near took it down and looked at it. "What's this?"

"Oh! Yeah, that's for you, too. It's a soundtrack with a woman's heartbeat on it. You play it by a newborn's crib so they feel like they're still in the womb! Cool, huh?"

This time even Near sweatdropped.

"Y-Yes, thank you. I'll be sure to play it tonight."

Mello snorted. _Not if I'm in there, he's not!_

"All right, I'm next," both L and Raito said. They looked at each other. Unfortunately, they had something else in common and that was their gift. They each got Near the same exact set of expensive, exotic mixed paints.

"Well, thank you both very much," Near said, mainly to Raito because he could tell he was upset, having probably thought that his gift was so unique and magical. "Really, I appreciate it. I've been running low and these are wonderful."

Raito sighed.

"Now, now," L simpered, "there's no need to pout, Raito."

"I'm _not_ pouting! And don't call me Raito."

"As a student, I can call you what I'd like," L said and took another bite of cake.

Raito turned a little pale.

"Oh, yeah," Mello said, looking towards the brunet on the couch, "what course did you sign up for anyway?"

"Sculpture," Raito grumbled and braced himself for what was about to occur.

"_Yes_," Matsuda screeched and dove onto the couch on the opposite side of Raito. He grabbed a hold of Raito's head and hugged it fiercely. "As of now, we are equals! Oh, Prof - I mean, _Raito_… we have finally broken the boundary of teacher and student and can be friends! We can hang out between classes and help each other on homework and gossip and…"

Matt was practically crying with laughter and Raito was just crying.

"Okay, enough of Idiot Theatre," Mello said, and put his hands on Near's shoulders, turning him around. Near blinked and then gasped mutely at the painting leaned up against the television stand behind him. It was a medium sized canvas on which dark hues of blue cascaded over a night sky. It was lit faintly by the hint of stars behind clouds high in the atmosphere and on the ground, surrounded by trees that were blown by gentle breezes and in front of a trickling stream over multicolored pebbles, was Near.

He stood there in jean shorts and a white shirt that hung a little too big. In his normally gray eyes, the water was reflected and they lit up the entire scene, acting like the moon would to the Earth. The grass covered his feet and the rest of his skin glowed like porcelain, everything reflecting the light that shone in his eyes and swept across his field of vision across the stream and into the woods.

Near, after spending almost five minutes staring at it, looked up at the blond. "M-Mello…"

Mello just grinned.

-

**to be continued.**

-

A/N: _End of prologue, people. Spread the word, tell your friends. Did you like it? Tell me in a review!_


	2. Birthday

_A/N: __Wow… you guys are awesome! I wondered if anyone would recognize this as the sequel and, sure enough, you did! Great job! Also… this is my one hundredth fic posted and I just wanted to give thanks to everyone who's reviewed over the years. -cries-_

-

**Azure Paler than the Sky.**

**two.**

On the second of September, classes began. The weather wasn't quite as humid and everyone could walk outside without fear of their new clothes sticking to them or sweating so hard and producing sweat stains. Most of everyone had come back from vacation and visiting families and were ready to see their teachers and friends again. And the sculpture students were especially surprised when they saw Professor Yagami mulling about campus not in his usual brown suit and red tie getup but in jeans and a hoodie.

"Yo, Yagami!" a female student called, waving at him as he passed through the courtyard. He looked over at her and she smiled, cupping her hands around her mouth and continuing, "You're looking pretty hot this year!"

Raito sighed, aggravated, and turned away, continuing to walk down the path. By his side was Matsuda, who had gotten up especially early to greet Raito at his dorm and wake him up for classes. Coincidently, the first class of the day was one they shared and as Raito thought the Gods must really hate him, he shuffled around his apartment as Matsuda made himself comfortable on the couch and babbled on about what a great sculptor Raito was. As the two of them made their way through the crowd and over to the sculpture building, Raito kept getting compliments on his casual attire from both students and staff alike.

Matsuda giggled. "You're so popular, Yag - Raito."

"It's not me, it's these clothes. Did everyone really hate my formal attire so much that they cheer me on when I wear something different?" he asked dourly.

Matsuda made a sympathetic noise as they rounded a corner. Suddenly Matsuda felt something collide with his head and he was soon on the floor, disoriented and alarmed. He looked up and found that he had bumped straight into someone else and scattered their books and papers all over the ground.

"Oh God! I'm so sorry! Here, let me help you," Matsuda cried and crawled over to help pick up the mess.

"It's okay," the other man mumbled, his long black hair falling over his face.

Raito rolled his eyes at his former student's clumsiness and bent down to help the two of them. As he stretched his arm over Matsuda, the other man looked up just in time to catch a glimpse of Raito's face under his amber bangs.

He stared and Raito could feel someone's eyes on him so he looked up and their eyes locked for a second. Raito squinted. "Yes?"

"… Oh, pardon me," the young man said, standing up with his papers and the ones Matsuda handed to him. He looked at both Raito and Matsuda for a second before returning his gaze to Raito and finally asking, "Aren't you the old sculpture professor, Raito Yagami?"

Raito blinked. "Well… yes…"

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. I really admire your work, I've followed it for quite some time now."

At hearing this, Raito perked up immensely and when the young man attempted to shake hands, Raito grabbed his hand warmly and smiled at him. Matsuda watched this little exchange with a slightly confused smile. When Raito was done shaking hands with the mystery man, Matsuda's smile came back full force and he stuck his hand out at the man, shouting enthusiastically, "I'm Matsuda!"

"…" The man turned back to Raito. "Would you mind showing me to classroom 146? I seem to have gotten lost."

"Oh, of course. I'm heading there as well."

"Great."

Matsuda blinked widely as the two of them walked down the hallway and he followed, of course, because _he_was heading there too. He followed behind the two and listened as Raito was complimented on his work to the point of a metaphoric blowjob. The hallways quieted down as classes were already starting and doors to classrooms were shutting. As they ascended a staircase and went down the hall, they approached their destination.

Raito opened the door and they all walked in to a class of budding sculptors, all chit-chatting and lounging around the classroom like there wasn't anything to be done.

Raito frowned. "What's wrong with them? Where's the new professor?"

Matsuda shrugged.

The man who they had escorted to the room went to the desk and set down his papers. He addressed the students, "Good morning, everyone. My name is Teru Mikami and I'll be taking over for Professor Yagami this year. Please take your seats."

Raito's eyes rounded. "_You're_ the new teacher?"

"Yes, I am… but, if I may ask, why are you still at Irai, Yagami?" Mikami asked while writing something on the board. "I was under the impression you had left."

"I… I'm a student here…" he said and coughed.

Mikami turned and looked at him again. "Really?" he asked quietly. Then, "That's fantastic news. I look forward to spending time with such a professional."

"… Oh," Raito hummed, his ego obviously stroked.

Matsuda found this all to be very strange and was about to pull Raito into a seat where they could be side-by-side until there was a shout from a random student in the crowd.

"Hey, Yagami! Lookin' hot!"

Raito groaned.

-

Mello grumbled in his sleep and silently fought against the covers as, in his dream, he was participating in a world tournament boxing match and taking on quite a few adversaries. But, in the fifth round, he was dealt a strong blow to the head and sent reeling backwards, knocked right out of his dream and into the conscious world. He sprung up in bed, a few beads of sweat going down the sides of his face as he looked around. Coming into view was Matt sitting on the couch and scarfing down a large chunk of the birthday cake left over from Near's party.

Matt looked at Mello interestedly. "Wet dream?" he asked.

"… No. I was boxing."

"Call it what you want… you know, I've been thinking…" He took another bite.

Mello rolled his eyes and scooted out of the bed, his bare legs hanging over the side. He scratched his stomach and yawned widely as he walked past the couch and into the kitchenette.

Matt laughed, "Can smell your breath from over here, Mel."

"Shut the fuck up."

"So, anyway, what I was saying about my thinking…" Matt resumed. "It's about Near being seventeen and all. You know that's a man's sexual peek, right?"

Rummaging in the fridge was heard. "Good Lord…" Mello came out of the kitchen with a paper plate with some cake on it as well and glared a little when he realized that Matt's slice was bigger than his. He said, "You don't know if that's true or not, it's an old wife's tale. There's nothing different about Near since his birthday."

"Dude, you know it's real. Remember when we were seventeen? I couldn't _drag _you out of the bathroom and I would carry little packets of hand lotion in my pockets."

Mello blushed angrily. "I had diarrhea!"

"All year?"

"… Well, whatever. I don't think Near's like that."

"You never know. He's all tiny and fluffy now but he's a man and soon he'll go crazy with desire and his hormones will whirl like a tempest sea!" Matt raised his hands to the ceiling.

"…" Mello narrowed his eyes. "What the-"

Just then there was a soft knock on the door and Matt called instinctively, "S'open, Near."

The door opened and a pale face peeked in, then coming in through the door fully. He had donned a pair of light blue jeans that were purchased by Matt in Okinawa and also in a baggy tan shirt with an angry penguin on the front.

"Good morning," he said, regarding the two of them calmly. He blinked at Mello. "Mello, aren't you dressed yet? We have to go now, L's class is starting in about ten minutes."

"… Class? _Shit_! Matt, you asshole, you didn't tell me," Mello howled, dropping his plate of half-eaten cake to the floor and running back to the closet while throwing his pajamas wildly to the floor.

Matt sat and ate slowly. "Thought you knew, Mel."

Near watched as Mello hopped around the room with one leg in his leather pants. Matt snorted laughter and just as Near got the idea to call and tell Mello to be careful, the blond tipped over and his left foot went ripping through the crotch of his pants and stomped straight through to the ground. Mello gasped soundlessly and looked up with wide eyes and hair standing on end at both Matt and Near who thought best to keep silent.

"GODDAMMIT!" he raged, shaking the pants off and throwing them into the corner.

"N-Now, Mello, don't get upset…"

"Those cost three hundred _dollars_," he cried.

Matt's jaw dropped. "And you scold me for dipping into our scholarship fund!"

"I was tired of wearing polyester!"

Before Matt could jeer at the already on-edge teen, Near shuffled over and grabbed a hold of Mello's wrist. "You could wear a pair of Matt's jeans… or mine, if you like, Mello."

"_Everybody_wears jeans," Mello moaned, rolling his eyes. "I'll look like a fucking commoner."

"But - commoner?" Near asked, looking down at his jeans.

Matt was already up from the couch and over at the closet, digging around inside. He came out with a pair of ratty jeans with holes on the knees and chucked them at Mello. He said, "You've worn my jeans before, what's the big deal now?"

"I'm an upperclassmen now," he said, sneering at the pants.

"Ah, you're a yuppie now?"

"No-"

Near, not at all happy with being called a commoner, said in a teddy-bear voice that was almost stern, "Mello, we're late now, please dress yourself or I will take you with me as you are."

Mello gaped.

Matt nodded sagely. "That's right, Mel, listen to your hubby."

"Matt!"

"Let's go," Near huffed and turned on his heel, scuffling other to the door with Mello in tow. He hurriedly pulled up the jeans and left them unzipped at his waist, slightly drooping there and just as the door was shutting, Near called back lightly, "Goodbye, Matt."

Matt waved at the closed door.

-

Things in the painter's building were going along as per usual. The nature of the average skilled painter was much more rebellious than an average carefree photographer or the sturdy sculptor. They would go off on tangents when something wouldn't go their way due to their massive ego and, as it turned out, on the first day of classes, one of L's male students had just been dumped by his girlfriend. In a frenzy of rage, he went out and set a trashcan in the hallway bathroom on fire.

L had been walking by the restroom just as the boy went streaking out and a load of smoke followed him. L sighed heavily and casually tugged on the fire alarm, sending the building into a frenzy. When the fire engine arrived and the men came into the building ready to fight a deadly fire, they were surprised when L had dumped a bucket of water on the small fire in the garbage and put it out. When asked who committed this heinous crime, L refused to answer, saying that it was against teacher-student confidence.

Safe to say that when L arrived to class, he was a bit late and _still_was able to eat a few lollipops and fiddle with his toes before Near and Mello came waltzing in, hand in hand.

L looked over his shoulder with a stick of pocky hanging from between his lips. "Ah, late as expected. How are you both?"

"I'm all right, L," Near said, coming over. He motioned towards Mello and said quite seriously, "I apologize for being late but Mello had a wardrobe malfunction…"

Mello frowned. "Don't say that!"

L shook his head. "Now, Mello, you don't have to get all dressed up just to see me."

Mello stomped over to L's stool with narrowed eyes and stood directly in front of him. There was a moment of complete silence in which Near wondered if Mello had finally had enough of L's subtle comments and would try to deck him. But just as Near thought it would be best to intervene, Mello's scowl broke out into a toothy grin. He said smoothly, "You're in love with me."

L smirked. "I know you think so, Mello."

"Whatever," he yawned and turned around, sashaying over to the easels to find a seat.

Near blinked and then smiled, deciding just then to forgive Mello for inadvertently calling him a commoner. As Near was heading over to the seats as well, a student out of the row raised his hand and L called on him.

"Uh… sir, the class has come to a consensus that you're favoring Mello and Near and that the rest of us don't really mean shit to you..."

Everyone nodded.

L blinked at him and then at the rest of the students. Mello was grinning to himself and examining his fingernails and Near sighed at all of the attention. Finally, after eating the last of the candy stick, L replied, "So?"

Everyone dipped their heads below the easels.

"Now, I would like to formally welcome all of you back for another year. The class has become smaller, and a congratulations to those of you who did not fail last term. We'll be busier this time around so it's best we get started today. I'm highly disappointed in the small turnout for last year's fundraiser. I really expected more courage out of the lot of you," he said and popped a mini Reese's into his mouth. "Courage is not a good thing for an aspiring artist to lack. Today, we will be building your bravery when it comes to art. I will require each and every one of you to strip naked."

"Hey!"

"What?"

"I can't!"

"No wa-"

"I _kid_," L insisted before a riot broke out. Everyone seemed to have their feathers ruffled and Mello's laughter at their gullibility was not helping. L noticed this. "Mello, if you are so brave, perhaps you would model for the class?"

Mello looked up. "Heh?"

Near looked at the blond and then at L. "Naked?"

"Is this a problem?" L asked. "We're all artists here."

Mello directed a smug look at L and languorously got up from his stool, walking to the center of the classroom. He looked over his shoulder and grinned widely. "I'll do it if you want me to."

"By all means."

There was a waver in Mello's confidence but he then just turned back to the class, who were all eyes, and began to unbutton his leather vest. He let it slide down his arms and fall to the floor to pool behind him. He reached for his zipper and looked at Near, who was blushing furiously and turned away, and then looked back at L, who watched with expectation.

"… I'll really do it," Mello threatened, unzipping his fly and placing his hands on the waistband of the jeans.

"I'm waiting," said L.

Mello frowned indignantly. "Don't think I won't! I'll traumatize them all!"

"They've seen most of your body in Near's painting. They look at themselves naked in the morning, as well, and are not unfamiliar with your-"

"Don't _say_that! What's the matter with you anyway?" Mello shouted, angered, and zipped his pants up. He picked up his vest hastily as if the floor was an insult to his clothing and stomped back to his seat.

Near looked at Mello pitifully. "Do you have to make such a fuss?"

"He insulted my honor!"

"_How_?"

"Now that Mello's had his dramatic outburst for this class period, we can get some work done," L said and ignored Mello's curses. "Though I teased you all earlier, it is very important for an artist to take pride in their art and not be shy. I want you to be able to put your souls on canvas for the world to see. You do agree than a stranger's soul is the most gorgeous, underappreciated thing there is, don't you?"

Everyone nodded accordingly.

"Good. So, take the charcoal and draw for us your most dear secret. Then we will all take turns showing them off to the class, yes?"

The students gasped.

"L," said the boy who had earlier raised his hand, "isn't that a bit drastic? These aren't just strangers that we pass on the street, we see these people daily…"

"Do it or you won't pass."

"…"

L looked up at the clock. "You all have an hour until show-and-tell. Let's get to it, shall we?"

The students, wanting to pass L's class desperately, all swallowed their pride and began to ponder on their biggest secret. The majority already knew what it was and shuddered as they tried to illustrate it. There were assorted groans from the students as their charcoal moved around on the paper in front of them. However, as Mello sat at his easel, with his utensil in hand, he stared blankly off into space.

What secret could there be that Matt had not already told half the student body or they had not heard from Mello's own mouth? It was quite the word around school that whoever was heard spouting rumors about Mello, the blond would soon catch up to them and beat the shit out of whoever took part in the gossip. And for that reason, there were no mysteries that he could clear up about himself. A secret, a secret.

_Well… _Mello looked over his shoulder as he felt he was being watched. A young blond girl was looking over her easel at Mello and, when he noticed her, she disappeared again behind her easel. Mello rolled his eyes. It was no secret to him or anyone else that he was a school wide heartthrob for many a young girl (and closet-residing young men) but Mello didn't get why they paid him so much attention when all he did was growl and scowl at them. A lot of people probably thought he would take them into his room and screw them mercilessly because of the way he looked. He just seemed that way. What they didn't know was that…

Mello smiled and got to work on his drawing.

Meanwhile, Near was having just as hard of a time thinking of something for his assignment. He wasn't an especially well-known person, other than Kid with the Bunny or Kid that Hangs Around Mello and Matt, or the ever-popular Toddler. Though he didn't have any secrets known, he didn't have many secrets to tell. What to choose that the general public didn't know? That he didn't like asparagus? That eating fast food made him feel awful for hours afterward?

But L did say their _deepest_ secret… Near looked up in thought. Everyone already knew he slept with stuffed animals, or at least, had a large quantity around him. Maybe he should draw the time he got curious and stuck a crayon up his nostril. But, no, most people did that sometime in their lifetime.

Though, perhaps, not at age fifteen.

_Maybe_, he thought as he snuck a glance at Mello involved in his work, _I should tell Mello a secret… I'm sure he thinks he's my first kiss. Though, would it be disheartening to hear? Surely, he won't mind… oh…_

Near sighed and picked up his charcoal.

The hour passed by quickly and no one but L seemed happy about it. He seemed to take great pleasure in their pained expressions and began calling them up in alphabetical order. The secrets were pretty predictable, things like people being bi-curious or having more than a couple of sexually transmitted diseases. One young woman was apparently guilty of drunkenly mooning Mr. Wammy and almost being suspended for it. The rest were friend-betrays and the like and when L called Mello up, the blond sighed and picked up his canvas, taking it up to the center of the room. He held it up and showed it to everyone, including L. It was a simple yet very in-depth sketch of Near.

Mello cleared his throat and Near could see a faint blush on his cheeks. He said, "I lost my virginity at eighteen."

The room was silent and owl-eyed. They all turned as one to Near and the young boy turned cherry-red, his heart like a hummingbird's.

Mello coughed and went to sit down, replacing his canvas. L gave some claps. "Good work, Mello."

Mello brightened at the praise of his work.

L continued, "It's a good thing to keep one's chastity for as long as possible."

"L, you ass-"

"Near, please stand."

The younger teen blinked at his name being called and took down his canvas rather quickly. He kept his head down as he walked to the middle of the class, aware of everyone's eyes on him. When he turned the canvas around, it was a sketch of a rabbit that looked very familiar to everyone in the room.

"I…" Near's voice cracked and he started again, "My first kiss was with my stuffed rabbit at age twelve."

A cricket chirped.

Mello stomped on it.

"What?" he shouted.

Near frowned sympathetically. "It didn't mean much, Mello…"

"Like hell it didn't…"

There was some uncomfortable silence then and a student who sat beside Mello raised his hand to Near. Near looked at him and he said loudly, "When did you get that rabbit?"

Near blinked. "I've had it since birth."

"Why'd you wait twelve years to kiss it?"

"I believe in moving slow."

"… Ah." He lowered his hand.

L smirked. "Class dismissed."

-

A little while later, both Near and Mello went straight from class to Near's dorm room. By that time, it was eleven o' clock and everyone was transitioning to find something to eat. Besides that, Mello was in quite a huff and there was very little Near could do to calm him down besides tell him that it was just a rabbit and Mello had nothing to be jealous of.

"Really, Mello, that's a childhood toy," Near said as he opened the door. Mello went inside, shaking his head.

"I thought I was your first kiss though."

"… You're jealous of a rabbit."

Mello turned on his heel as he found Near shutting the door with a small smile. A redness covered Mello's cheeks and he insisted with fury, "I am not! I don't keep things from you, you know."

"It wasn't a secret-"

"The _assignment _was to tell a secret," Mello huffed.

Near sighed and walked past the blond to sit on the bed where all of his animals, the rabbit included, resided. Mello frowned deeply and walked away, having the strangest idea that Near might try to kiss his rabbit again just to tease him. He went for the door to maybe go across the hall and rant at Matt for a little bit but as he opened the door, he realized that Matt was at class then.

"Mello, close the door."

"Why, you scared of a _draft_?" he asked, half unaware of how ridiculous he sounded.

"Mello."

Mello whirled around. "Wha - oh."

Near was sitting there but his shirt had somehow ended up on the carpet and his zipper was halfway down. He was looking quite friendly. "Close the door," he said again.

Mello did as he was told. _Maybe Matt is right._

-

**to be continued.**

-

A/N: _XD Don't expect an update everyday... I was just energetic... So, anyone want to tell me anything?_


	3. Charm

A/N: _Ah, hello, hello. Not much to say other than thank you all for the reviews. XD You don't know how much of a kick I get out of knowing your thoughts. Okay, well, onward!_

-

**Azure Paler than the Sky.**

**three.**

It was at around three o' clock when Mello closed Near's dorm room door behind him as he went out into the hallway. Near was laying asleep wrapped up in his covers. The lucky bastard didn't have another class until evening but Mello couldn't afford to take a luxurious afterglow nap since he had another class at five. He scratched at his partially exposed stomach as he opened the door to his own dorm and found Matt there, as expected, laying over the armrest of the couch with his DS in his hand.

"Yo," Matt said, not looking away from the small screen.

Mello waved and walked past the redhead on the couch, straight into the kitchenette. Matt continued to play his game and small beeping sounds were emitted and barely heard as Mello opened the fridge and cabinets.

"… How is it we never have any food?" he asked, exasperated.

"What do you mean, Mel? We've got canned food in the cabinets."

A pause. "Corn. We have five cans of _corn_, Matt."

"S'healthy."

"Matt, I'm fucking hungry!"

"We have a cafeteria," Matt grounded out, slightly frustrated. "Give me a sec, I'm trying to clear this level."

"What's that?" Mello poked his head out into the living room, a scowl decorating his features. "Don't ignore me for that stupid thing!"

"It's not stupid-"

Matt yipped when a can of corn went whizzing overhead and nearly nicked him on the ear. He ended up dropping the system to the floor where the restart button was clicked and there was a game over noise sounded as the game shut off. Matt looked over the side of the couch, his goggles askew on his face and his eyes wide open.

"Aw, Mello, you prick."

"Maybe you'll listen to me every once in a while then, Matt," Mello said smugly as he walked around the couch to fetch the can of corn on the other side of the room. He was so focused on enjoying Matt's pain and misery that he stepped on the discarded system and the game went sliding forward while Mello himself went slipping backwards, whirling his arms about crazily. Matt gasped and tried to get a hold of Mello's shirttail not to save his friend but to save his game from being crushed under Mello's weight. The blond was heavier than Matt had thought and was too heavy to catch with one hand and they both went tipping over and crashed right into the ground.

Matt groaned out as Mello lay all of his weight on the redhead's stomach. When he looked up, the can of corn was rolling around beside him.

"Get up," Mello growled.

"You're on-"

There was a sound at the door, a jiggling of the handle, and before either of the boys knew it, the door was open and Raito was staring down at them with a raised eyebrow.

Matt raised a friendly hand. "Hey! Mello, I invited Raito over to eat."

"Thanks for telling me."

"Am I interrupting?" Raito asked.

"No," Mello growled, finally getting to his feet, "but I hope you like corn."

"Um."

"Hey, guys! I don't mind corn," Matsuda said, who's smiling face popped up over Raito's shoulder.

Matt and Mello exchanged glances and Raito shook his head.

The two of them came in as Matt was shuffling around the floor, collecting his system and the discarded game, mourning over the fact that he was so close to the final boss. He sighed and placed it on the coffee table before coming over and giving Raito a hug. Matsuda wanted a hug too and after knowing Matsuda for so long, Matt obliged without comment. Matsuda went over to hug Mello and the blond stood there and took it with a sour look on his face.

"How was your first day of school?" Matt asked, grinning slightly at Raito.

Raito rolled his eyes. "I felt like an idiot, sitting there in almost remedial classes."

Matsuda looked cheerfully at Raito. "But you were in the same classes as me!"

"… Yes."

Matt laughed.

Mello was rummaging around in the kitchen. There was no more of Near's birthday cake leftover and all they had really was those wayward cans of corn. He wondered slightly where Matt had even gotten them from. Mello supposed they could go down to the cafeteria and eat but would everyone want to walk all that way…?

And just why the fuck was _he_ the one worrying about all of this?

"The new professor is very knowledgeable," Raito was saying. "He also seems to be able to keep the students in line which is something even I had trouble with."

Matsuda frowned a little. "He isn't very friendly."

"Aw," Matt said, looking across Raito to the dejected sculpture student. "Was he mean to you, Matsuda?"

"N-No… well, he didn't shake hands…"

"He probably is not one for much physical contact. Not a bad way to be with SARS and e-coli running around these days," Raito said thoughtfully.

"He shook your hand, though."

"I'm a former teacher, it's only respect."

"He touched you a lot," Matsuda continued, eyes rolling upward in vague thought. "He put his hand on your shoulder a lot during class and winked."

Raito noticeably glared at Matsuda for saying those things in front of Matt, who was obviously not liking it. Matt raised an eyebrow at Raito as he asked Matsuda, "That so? What else?"

"Well-"

"Matsuda's making too much out of this," Raito explained, sending a charming smile his lover's way.

Matt sighed.

At that moment, Mello came stomping out of the kitchenette with four cans under his arms. As he passed the three sitting on the couch, he put one can in each of their hands and then sat on the bed across from them.

Raito and Matsuda looked at each other in question.

Matt laughed at Mello's huffiness. "Ah, Mel, you're my favorite housewife, ya know?"

"Shut the fuck up."

-

Mello and Matt had other classes to attend that day and so Matsuda and Raito were left alone in about an hour. However, Raito did a very impressive shake move on poor Matsuda and ditched him somewhere in the hallways. Really, Raito thought, Matsuda wasn't a bad guy at all. He was just hard to digest in large doses and Raito had had more than enough for one day. Three classes shared in a row was not the best thing for him at the moment. All this student stuff was terrible, really. No privileges! The very thought of not being pampered made Raito cringe inwardly as he walked about the campus, careful to keep away from places he knew Matsuda would be lurking.

Being forced to eat cafeteria food all the time was not great, but he could handle it. It's just that things seemed to be going downhill already and it was only the first day. He couldn't remember when things were so bad that he sat in a dingy, dirty room with three other men eating straight out of a can of uncooked corn. Even when he and L were in college together, things were sometimes unconventional but Raito didn't even like corn.

What he needed now was something old and familiar, something to help him get through all of these changes. The leaves of the trees were shaking lightly in the wind as Raito crossed the courtyard to the next building and headed down the hallway for the teacher's lounge. Technically since he still had a teaching license, it wouldn't be too much of a problem if he went inside to relax for a little bit.

Raito shut himself off from the wind and the sounds of people talking outside as he shut the door behind himself and went down the hallway. He stopped at the teacher's lounge and sighed at the feel of the familiar door handle under his grip. When he entered, he sighed for quite a different reason.

"Hello, Raito," L said, waving. As usual, he had a fork hanging out of his mouth with a slice of half-eaten strawberry shortcake in front of him and was alone at one of the tables. No one else was in the room.

Raito walked over and pulled out a chair across from him. "Hello, Lawliet."

"I didn't expect to see you here."

"Same to you."

"Mm," he hummed, swallowing, "only you are trespassing and I am not."

Raito frowned, leaning his elbow on the tabletop. "Don't be this way, Lawliet, I've had a rough day."

"I see. You should have a talk with Matsuda about his obsessive-compulsive adoration of you if it is so stressful." He took another bite.

"… How did you-"

Suddenly L began to cough. He turned his head away and spat out the bite that was in his mouth and Raito, alarmed, began to furiously smack L on the back which almost knocked him out of his delicate sitting position. L turned back to Raito and fended his hands away, insisting, "I-I'm fine."

Raito sighed and leant back. "You should _chew _your food, you know. The average man should chew each bite eight times before swallowing and not only does eating properly ensure proper digestion but-"

"Raito, do not lecture me on pristine bowels," L said sullenly and stared at his cake a little.

Raito rolled his eyes. "I was only trying to help."

"…"

Both men looked up simultaneously as the knob on the door began to shake. Neither was prepared to see the new teacher, Mikami, walking through the door and said man paused upon entering to see Raito. Raito gave a small smile and a wave at the young professor and Mikami smiled back slightly.

"How unexpected," Mikami said, coming over to their table and pulling out a chair next to Raito. "Mind if I join you two?"

"Of course not," Raito said. He looked to Lawliet who was giving little glares at his untrustworthy slice of cake. "Lawliet, this is Mikami, the new sculpture professor. Mikami, this is L, an advanced painting professor."

"Hello," Mikami greeted and reached out his hand to L.

L looked up and nodded, shaking hands, ignoring the small disgusted noise Mikami made when he pulled back a sticky hand. He sighed and pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his hand off under the table.

Raito cleared his throat. "Sorry if I surprised you, Mikami, by being in here… it's just I'm having a hard time getting used to student life…"

"Oh, I don't mind. But it hasn't been that long since you were a student yourself, isn't that right, Raito?" he asked, looking towards the brunet.

Raito grinned. "I'm not that young."

"Really, you fit right in amongst the students."

"You're pretty young yourself."

"Oh, stop."

L had, for probably the first time in his life, lost interest in his cake in favor of the blatant sweet-talking going on right in front of him. He rolled his eyes underneath his dark bangs at the two of them going on and on about each other's youth and liveliness. L didn't see it as so much of a problem on Raito's part as he was known to have an amble amount of charisma and would inadvertently flirt with plants if he had the chance to.

This Mikami, though, with the way he was leaning in a little close and his eyes were sliding all up and down Raito's body seemed a little out of line. Raito loved the attention and L thought it was his duty as a friend and a teacher to intervene before raping took place.

"Ahem," he said, interrupting the two. "Mikami, it's a good thing you're here because I need another professor's opinion on something."

Mikami looked up. "Oh? What's that?"

Raito held back a pout. "I'm a professor, too, you know, just not an active one."

"Of course you are, Raito," L simpered. "That's why I will take your opinion into account as well."

Raito seemed somewhat mollified.

L continued, "It's about my career as an artist. This past summer, I had a showing in London and that went pretty well, though I couldn't attend… I was thinking about preparing one here in Japan."

Raito looked at L interestedly. "That's a good idea. You've never had one here, have you?"

"A small one, a few years back. I shared that with a few other artists, so I want one on my own here."

Mikami nodded. "It is a good idea but you seem to have your mind all made up so what did you need our opinions for?"

"It's not that," L said, shaking his head. "I just haven't had much time to paint except for this summer and nearly killed myself with all the pieces I've put together. Other than that, I'm teaching year round and students take up a lot of my time. I'm proud of my work but I wanted to have one or two highlight paintings and for that I will need help."

"Lawliet," Raito gasped, surprised. "I'm very flattered but I really can't paint-"

"I was not asking for _your _help."

"…"

"I am interested in having… an apprentice of sorts. And, naturally, Near and Mello came to mind."

Raito was still a bit putt off and so Mikami answered first. "Who are Near and Mello?"

"Two of my Junior students."

Mikami blinked. "For a professional showing, you'd have two _students_ help you? Isn't that a bit risky?"

L shook his head. "I have confidence. They're both very talented and with Mello out of his slump, he seems to have a sort of ambition about him now that is amazing. Near has already proven himself to be very skilled…"

"Won't you have to pick one?" Raito asked, getting over himself.

L nodded. "I suppose it wouldn't be fair to make them compete."

"But what if they don't want to?" Mikami asked.

"I have a strong feeling that it will interest them at the very least."

Raito rolled his eyes and mumbled, "They practically worship Lawliet's bare feet."

"Jealousy is an ugly thing, Raito."

"I'm not jealous!"

Mikami laughed lightly and pushed himself away from the table. Raito watched as he got up and when he said, "Sorry to be leaving so soon but I have another class soon. Hope to see you again soon, Lawliet. Raito, I will see you tomorrow."

"Yes, goodbye," Raito said as he left. When the door shut, Raito hummed and turned back to L, his chin rested in the palm of his hand. "He's very nice."

"He is a pervert and a masochist."

"… Lawliet!" Raito shouted, blushing. "How could you say that about a fellow teacher, you don't even know him."

"I have gathered all the information I need."

"Oh, is that so?"

"It is."

Raito stared at L apprehensively for a moment and when L continued to eat cake, Raito sighed and turned away.

-

At around eight that night, Near was walking alone in the corridors on his way back to the dorms from his night class. Finally, the day was over and he could go to bed. But from the sounds of it, his fellow students were planning to stay up all night and celebrate the completion of another "first day." He just hoped that back at the dorms, it wasn't quite so noisy.

He walked with his head slightly drooping. It had been hard to stay awake during class even after his little catnap. He made a mental note to remind himself to tell Mello that they could not partake in certain activities in the middle of the day anymore because it always made Near so tired.

_Well_, he thought, _maybe just not on weekdays during the days. Or, perhaps,_ _from noon to three on weekdays is more precise since_-

Near walked right into an opening door on the right side of the hallway and yelped more out of surprise than in pain.

The door-opener peeked their head over the jamb and came out upon seeing Near standing there, cradling his head and sighing to himself.

"Near? Are you all right?"

Near looked up, one hand over his right eye. "O-Oh, L, I'm sorry, I walked into the door…"

"No, I opened it _on_ you." L put a hand on Near's head and the other underneath his chin to lift his face up. L studied it and noted that there was no real injury. He sighed and patted Near on the head. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," he assured, smiling. "I'm just so sleepy, I wasn't paying attention."

"Ah." L started walking down the hall and Near caught up, keeping his side company. "We should get you back to your dorm then."

"Oh, you don't have to come with me…"

"No, I'm obligated to do so."

"You are?"

"Yes. It's my duty as an educator… and besides that, I feel guilty for hitting you. So I will protect you from other doors on the way," L said, not sparing Near a glance.

Near smiled and looked ahead. "Okay."

-

**to be continued.**

-

A/N: _Enjoy it? Please let me know!_


	4. Liveliness

A/N: _Now it's time! Let's go!_

-

**Azure Paler than the Sky**

**four.**

Thursday was the next time L's advanced class met and by then, L was close to making his decision. But even as he looked at the two sitting behind their easels, they were unaware of his intentions for them and continued on like they would normally.

"Mello, if you mix the paints like that, it'll be too thick…"

"Trust me, it's fine."

"Okay…"

As anyone could see, Near was greatly enjoying the Mello that he never really met before. The previous year when Near knew him, Mello was tied up and twisted in his own misery and sour seventy-five percent of the time because he thought his talent had poofed. Not he had all of the confidence of Michael Angelo and he was probably overconfident but that was just the way he was. Near watched his brush strokes on the canvas with wide, interested eyes and every time Mello paused to dip the paintbrush, Near would try to anticipate his next move.

But, as he soon found out, that was nearly impossible to do. Mello was too spontaneous with his paintings in general and as Near continued to watch him, he tried so hard to even _try_ to follow the impulsiveness. It barely made sense until it all came together in the end and Near wondered faintly about the painting of himself that he had hanging in his room, the one that Mello had given him for his birthday, and if that was how he had created it.

It seemed so together and well thought out but, really, had he just thought of Near and started painting random things until it was born out of shades of blue? Is that really how Mello worked? So unorthodox? The more Near thought about it, the more it all added up. The way Mello was, always screaming and causing problems for people around him, naturally his painting technique would be strange as well.

"… There. Told you it'd be okay," Mello said, shaking Near from his thoughts. Near looked closely and blinked as all of the lines and swirls had turned into living sorbet.

Near nodded and said quietly, "That's very good, Mello. I really like it."

Mello smirked, folding his arms across his chest. "Yeah… Hey, where's yours?"

"… Mine?" Near turned back to his easel and gasped upon realizing that it was completely blank. He'd squandered away his hour just watching Mello.

Mello looked over at the blank canvas as well and whistled amusedly. "That sucks."

"Mello, this isn't funny," Near said sadly. "What can I do in less than five minutes? L will be disappointed…"

"Here, watch." Mello took Near's paint brush and dipped it in black. Near watched curiously as he took it to the blank canvas and slowly painted a hunched over stick-figure with a smiling face. Mello took the paint brush away and grinned at the painting and then at Near, whose mouth was slightly ajar. "Whatcha think?"

"That's not _funny_," Near pouted, staring at it.

Mello laughed and leaned over, placing a small kiss on Near's lips. Near returned it and was smiling when Mello pulled away despite his dilemma.

"Mello, keep your hormones in the dorms where they belong."

Mello frowned and looked over the top of the easel. "L, mind your own business!"

"I am. Everyone, time is up. You all may leave your canvases behind and I will see you next time." L said all of this over a mouthful of gumdrops out of a sack on his desk. All of the students left like a herd of bison towards the door and when they had all gone, the sounds of their laughter and chit-chat following them down the hallway, Mello and Near were the only two left in the class.

They were muttering to each other behind their canvases, trying not to let L hear them.

"It's not bad-"

"Not bad? It's a stick-figure, oh, he's going to think I'm lazy-"

"You worry-wart, just throw some color on it-"

"That's not-"

"Mello, Near," L called. "Class time is gone and I can't allow you to stay in here all day. What are you doing?"

"_Nothing_," Mello groaned.

"Then please do nothing where I can see you. And bring those paintings with you."

Finally, Mello's head popped up over the easel and he rolled his eyes as he took his canvas off of the easel and carried it over to L's stool. Near's head popped up soon after and he timidly took down his own canvas and shuffled over, keeping it pressed to his chest and his head down like a soon-to-be-punished puppy. L sent Near a questioning glance but looked at Mello's painting first since it was practically shoved at him.

L grabbed it and looked at it closely. "I can see you're having fun now that you're in the clear again. It really shows. Good job," he said finally and reached into his sack. He fished out a blue gumdrop and put it in Mello's hand.

Mello, not one to hide his feelings by any stretch of the imagination, smiled so wide that it was assumed the corners of his mouth would meet in the back of his head. He held on tightly to the gumdrop, as if it were a sign of his well-earned manhood. Saying nothing, he stood there at attention like a soldier enjoying praise from his sergeant.

L set the painting down and held his hand out to Near. Near sighed and handed it over, hiding his face in shame. L was confused as to why Near was acting the way he was but then he turned over the easel and saw the stick-figure and suddenly it was all clear.

"… Mello, do not do Near's work for him."

Mello was kicked out of his small moment of contentment. "It's called helping a fellow student, L."

"Oh, is that so? I thought it was called crappy drawing."

"Hey!"

L ignored him. "Could you not think of anything?" Then, a somewhat worried expression passed over his face. "You're not in a rut, are you, Near?"

"Oh, no, it's just… I just was watching Mello paint and lost track of time…"

"Ah, I see. That's fine then."

Near looked up, shocked. "It's fine? Really?"

"Yes, really. Though, the next time this happens, I will be forced to remove one of you from your seat and put you up here with me." L motioned to the abandoned swivel chair behind the desk. "But, Near, you do not get a gumdrop today."

"Oh, I understand…"

Near nodded and walked around L's stool followed by Mello, who was by then eating his gumdrop slowly so as to savor his metaphorical pat on the back. Before either of them reached the door, L turned a little in his sitting position and said lightly, "Oh, I forgot something."

Mello looked over his shoulder, an eyebrow raised. "You just wanna keep us in here forever."

L smiled. "Yes, I do."

Mello and Near exchanged glances.

"Let me explain," L continued and turned around completely to face them. "I will keep this brief since I have to go to the bathroom."

Mello pulled a face. "Nice."

"Anyway. I'm going to be putting together a showing in Japan… I feel suffocated as an artist when I'm not able to show off, you understand. So I've worked all summer long, but I want a few pieces to highlight the event and I think I will need some help. An assistant of sorts. Do you see what I'm getting at?"

Near blinked and then looked at Mello. "You want… one of us?"

"I can't think of anyone else more qualified," L said quietly.

Mello nodded triumphantly. "Neither can I!"

"I will inform you both of my decision later… Mello, do not call my cell phone asking."

Mello frowned and was sort of ashamed that he had the man on speed-dial. L turned back around in his chair and that was the signal that the two of them could leave then. They looked at each other before opening the door and exiting. They walked down the corridor in silence and Mello waited until they reached the courtyard to release his happiness.

"FUCK YEAH!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, pumping his fist into the air. Bystanders looked at him. Mello whirled around to Near with an excited grin. "This is so awesome, I can't wait to tell Matt!"

"Yes."

Mello blinked, lowering his hands. "What're you so sad for? Don't you know what a great opportunity this is?"

Near shuffled his feet a little. "Mello, you know… he said he would pick _one_ of us. Not both."

"… Right," Mello said, letting it sink in. He sighed heavily and then came over to Near, sticking his hand out at him. Near looked at it at first and then looked at Mello's smirking face. He said, "Then, may the best man win."

Near hesitated but, then, placed his hand in Mello's and smiled. "Okay," he said.

-

Mello and Near continued their way back to the dorm, discussing the kinds of things that an apprentice for L would even do. Considering the man's off the wall teaching methods and love of embarrassing and mentally scarring his students, it was sure to be a demanding job.

"Really," Near hummed in thought, "that along with classes? How are we supposed to concentrate on just one?"

"Classes?" Mello asked as if disgusted. "Classes don't mean anything next to this!"

"But we have to get good grades to graduate."

"Well… but-"

"Come to think of it, Mello," Near said meekly and grabbed a hold of Mello's hand as they walked, "how do you pass every year?"

Mello frowned. "What do you mean by _that_?"

"… Nothing."

They came to their hallway and turned to Mello and Matt's door, opting for their room instead of Near's because Mello so wanted to tell Matt of his good luck, or rather, rub it in his face. As Mello opened the door, his head was turned and he said to Near, "You're lucky you're cute, you know…"

"Am I?" he asked with the hint of a smile and looked ahead, blinking, at both Matt and Raito on the couch facing each other. "Oh… it seems we're interrupting…"

Both Raito and Matt looked up, startled.

Mello came strolling in. "Interrupting my ass, this is my house too!"

"Mello," Near called from the door, a frown on his face.

"No, it's all right, Near," Matt said, leaning back into the couch cushions. He picked up his DS that was laying over on the coffee table. "We're all done here."

"… Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Raito said, standing. He walked over to the door and patted Near on the head who looked up at him confusedly. "I'll see you later, Matt."

"Yeah, okay," Matt said, lifting up his goggles to his forehead. "Bye, Rai."

Raito left down the hallway and Near came in, shutting the door behind him. "What was that all about?" he asked, more to himself than to Matt. The redhead didn't even get a chance to answer before Mello came in from the restroom in the hallway - where Near didn't even see him go _in_ - and put his arms around Matt's neck and grinned at him.

Matt laughed. "What's up with you, Mel? You didn't just get laid, I know, 'cause the building wasn't shaking."

Near yipped and turned a dark shade of red.

Mello laughed and head-butted Matt lightly. "_No_, you ass, L just told us he needs an assistant and he wants either me or Near for the job."

Matt blinked. "Wow, that's great! Congrats, you guys."

"Yes, thank you…" Near mumbled, his head bowed.

-

A few hours later, another one of the sculpture classes let out and both Raito and Matsuda were walking away from the building.

Matsuda sighed heavily, carrying his books in his arms. "Professor Mikami's classes are so boring, Raito. Not anything like yours."

"Boring, really," Raito said absently.

"Yes." Matsuda nodded confidently. "When I watched you do demonstrations, it was so… so involving. With Professor Mikami, it's boring and I don't feel like wanting to do anything. Plus, he gives so much homework!"

"I guess."

"… What's wrong?"

Raito shook his head. "Nothing."

"Um… well, I-"

Suddenly, there was a small, grumbling sound and both men stopped in their tracks and looked down at Raito's stomach growling. Matsuda laughed lightly and Raito looked away, embarrassed.

"You're _hungry_," Matsuda observed. "Come on, let's go to the cafeteria."

"Oh, no, I don't think - I mean, I really ought to get-"

"_Raito_, it's okay. I'll buy, all right?"

Raito didn't seem to have much of a chance to say anymore as he was dragged by the hand towards the cafeteria. For someone as weak-looking as Matsuda, he was pretty strong.

Upon entering the building, there weren't very many people there. Probably because around seven and everyone had already eaten dinner. The students there were laughing or talking quietly and when Raito and Matsuda had gotten their food, they walked over to a table in the middle of the brightly lit room and Matsuda sat all his books down beside him.

"You really didn't have to do this," Raito said, sitting next to him.

Matsuda smiled lightly. "I want to."

Raito sighed, nodding.

Then, just as they began to eat, there was a sound in front of their table and both young men looked up, greeted with the sight of Mikami standing there, his glasses shining under the florescent lighting. Raito smiled immediately and Matsuda's mouth dropped open.

_Where in the world does he come from? _Matsuda wondered.

"Such a coincidence seeing you here, Raito," Mikami said, sitting down on the other side of the brunet. "I hope you didn't find class too boring today."

Raito shook his head. "Of course not, I was riveted."

Matsuda frowned.

"Really?" Mikami chuckled under his breath. "Most of the students seemed ready to fall asleep but I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"Yes, your technique is fascinating… Where did you graduate from?"

"Irai, of course."

Raito looked up, eyes lit. "From _here_? That's amazing, what class were you? I don't ever remember-"

"Well, if I'm right, you were class of '04. I was '03."

"Really, so, you were a Senior when I was a Junior. How interesting that we're finally meeting like this."

"Yes," Mikami said, placing a hand on Raito's forearm, "it's a bit like fate, right?"

Matsuda was watching with his mouth agape and a horrified look on his face. _Jesus Christ above! Is this guy for serious?_ _FATE? Oh, poor Raito, he's being suckered in… If I don't do something, Matt will be very upset… Yes, as his former student and Raito's new best friend, it is my sacred duty to protect his and Matt's relationship with my very life! I'll do my best!_

"Um, excuse me," Matsuda interrupted the two. They looked at him, Mikami with mild annoyance. Matsuda continued, "Professor Mikami, sir, I was just wondering if you could explain some stuff from the homework to me! Please, sir?"

Mikami blinked. "What stuff, Matsuda?"

"Uh… pages fifty-six to ninety-eight?"

"But Matsuda, that's all review."

"R-Right but there's a test coming up soon, right? So I can't afford to be bleary on anything! Um, actually, you're probably super busy, professor, so I should get Raito to help me. Study time! Come on, Raito," Matsuda shouted and grabbed Raito by the wrist, pulling him out of his seat and only got a few feet with him until Raito put his foot down and caused Matsuda to turn around suddenly.

"Matsuda! What's the matter with you?" Raito asked, frowning.

"We have to go, I really don't want to fail that test," he explained.

Raito pointed at the table. "First of all, you left your books there."

"… Oh."

"Second of all, you're behavior is extremely embarrassing."

"My behavior? Professor - I mean, Raito, he's _flirting_ with you!"

Raito blinked and looked over his shoulder at Mikami sitting there, looking confused and a little bothered. Raito turned back to Matsuda and said, "Flirting?"

"Shamelessly!"

"Matsuda," Raito laughed, "don't be ridiculous. And even if he is, it's okay. There's no harm in showing a little bit of an interest though I doubt that's what's going on here. I think you're reading too much into it."

Matsuda gasped. "No harm? What about _Matt_?" he wailed.

"Matsuda-"

"If he were here he wouldn't like it at all, really, we should just leave before-"

"Matsuda! Just listen to me, for heaven's sake. We're not together anymore, all right?"

"… Who isn't together anymore?"

"Me and Matt."

"… _Huh_?"

Raito growled and then let out s deep breath. He took Matsuda's shoulders in his hands and forced the younger man to look up into his eyes. A thorough blush coated his cheeks. Raito said, "Matt and I broke up today, okay? So I'm single. So I don't see a problem if Mikami-"

"Oh, professor," Matsuda whined, his eyes beginning to water. "How could you be so mean! Poor Matt!"

"Poor Matt?" Raito echoed. "He dumped me!"

Matsuda broke out into tears and tore himself away from Raito's grasp, running out of the cafeteria crying loudly and bursting through the north end double doors. Raito watched him go with both eyebrows raised. He looked over his shoulder again at Mikami who was starring as well.

"What's the matter with him?"

"Oh…" Raito came to sit back down. "Nothing really."

-

"Agh, you bastard! Die already!"

"Never! Shut up and take it!"

"Excuse me… what does this button do?"

"Haha, fuck you - oh, that's the jump button, Near."

"Oh, I see."

All three boys were sitting on the floor in front of Matt and Mello's television with Gamecube controllers in hand; all of them staring at their characters as they tumbled across the screen. As Matt had said, the best way to celebrate something as great as the prospect of being L's apprentice was playing Super Smash Bros. Matt had automatically called Doctor Mario, Mello grabbed Link and Near, not knowing much, was suckered into playing the white Kirby by Matt and Mello who thought it would just be the cutest thing.

Link and Doctor Mario went at it like characters possessed, bringing chaos down around them and lunging items at each other. Kirby stood there in the midst of everything, walking around and jumping occasionally.

Near looked up from his controller. "Why won't either of you fight with me?"

There was a halt in action and Mello paused the game. They both looked down at him and laughed.

"Aw, Near," Matt said, patting him on the head. "We don't want to hurt your little Kirby."

"Yeah, it'd feel kinda pointless," Mello added.

Near frowned deeply and then un-paused the game. He ran over to Doctor Mario and high-kicked him off the ledge and then picked up a gun and shot Link multiple times.

'_Winner - KIRBY!'_

Near huffed.

Mello blinked. "O… kay…"

Suddenly, the door was busted open and each boy screamed, save for Near who let out a little yip, and whirled around to face whoever was there. But standing there with tears in his eyes was only Matsuda. He was panting as if he'd run a great distance and upon seeing Matt seated there on the floor, Matsuda called out, "Matt!" and literally crawled over to the redhead on hand and knee.

"Jesus, Matsuda!" Mello yelled, "You scared the shit out of us!"

Matsuda ignored Mello's cursing and grasped Matt's hands in his. "Matt, Matt! What happened? Why did you dump Pro - Raito?"

Matt paused for a moment and then groaned upon hearing both Mello and Near's gasps.

"L-Listen, Matsuda, it… it just wasn't working out, you know… I guess it had to do with me going away for two months, it… um…"

Matsuda's puppy-dog eyes just grew and grew.

"Matsuda…"

"Don't you love him anymore?" he wailed.

"Aw, come on, that's not-"

"_Don't you_?"

"Of course! Yeah, okay, I do but… you know, _he _felt the same way. It was a mutual agreement."

"Will you… go back out with him again soon?"

"… Uh… I really don't think so…"

Matsuda sighed and nodded. He dropped Matt's hands and stood up from the floor, his sad expression washed away and a determined one shining. "Then," he said bravely, raising his fist, "it's up to me to protect dear Raito from the likes of Mikami!"

"… Huh?" Matt asked.

Matsuda smiled and ran for the door, shouting back to the redhead, "I'll make you proud, Matt!"

The door slammed shut.

Mello stared. "What… the fuck."

-

**to be continued.**

-

A/N: _The stage is set! Thoughts, anyone?_


	5. Speculation

_A/N: __XD Ah, so am I seeing people taking sides on the Matsuda/Mikami subject? Good, good. It's no fun if there aren't teams!_

-

**Azure Paler than the Sky.**

**five.**

"You're an ass."

"Aw, not you too."

"Not because of _that_…"

Matt turned over in the bed, the covers rolling with him. He looked at Mello's pouting face as the blond looked up into the ceiling and Matt cracked a smile. It was around midnight and they had only just gotten to bed after Near left, the smaller teen huffing silently at Matt. Near was mostly known as one not to pout about menial things like the nature of his friends' relationships but he seemed to be especially upset about this even after Matt hugged him, which usually cheered Near up.

Mello, however, didn't seem to have too much of a problem with it until they were alone and Matt had quite a good idea of what he was upset about. His smile broke out into a full-on grin and he pinched Mello's charred cheek lightly. "Aw, you big softie," he snickered, "you wanted to be the first to know, didn't you?"

"Get off me!" Mello whined, fighting the offending hand away. He turned over in a big grumpy pile and refused to face Matt. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't."

"Mel, _I _didn't tell Matsuda, Raito did."

"He sure is talkative."

Matt laughed, "Well, Matsuda _is_ his BFF now."

"For Christ's sake…" Mello rolled back over and returned to look at the ceiling. "Just who was that Mikami person Matsuda was talking about anyway?"

"Oh, you weren't around when they were talking about him. He's the new sculpture teacher."

"What's his problem?"

"Matsuda thinks he's after Raito, I guess."

Mello snorted. "The teachers here are all really perverted."

"What about L?" Matt asked, grinning.

"He's no exception!"

"But you still wanna work with him."

"Damn straight." Mello sighed and ignored the laughter coming from his bedmate and thought for a minute before saying carefully, "You know… what this means, right?"

"What?"

"Matsuda's gonna try and be Raito's boyfriend," he said, cackling. "Shit, that'll be funny!"

Matt nodded.

Mello looked at him and smirked. "Is someone jealous?"

"No, it's just I'm happy… for Matsuda, you know. If someone was going to be with Raito, I'd _want_ it to be him. Even though I don't know much about Matsuda, I trust him a lot."

"Oh, I get it! Fucker, you don't trust me!"

Matt laughed boisterously and hugged on Mello. "I do, Mel! Just not with my ex's. I don't even trust you with _Near_!"

Mello rolled his eyes.

-

The next morning, Raito was able to slip out of his apartment without Matsuda wanting to walk to class together. Truthfully it was only about ten minutes without the younger male but it was something. He walked into class just as the other students were filing in and Mikami was turned at the board, unaware of his entry. When the last of the students entered and just about all of them were seated, Raito looked up and still did not see Matsuda.

_Could he have waited by my door?_ Raito wondered dimly and suddenly felt a little bit bad about ditching him. When Mikami finally turned around, the first one he laid eyes on was Raito and smiled just as the door burst open and Matsuda, panting and out of breath.

"I-I'm not late," he cried and staggered into the room.

Raito blinked. "Matsuda, what's the matter with - oh, Jesus, you smell like sweat…" The brunet pursed his lips in disgust and scooted his chair away a little as Matsuda sat down beside him.

"Yeah… um, I ran down to the corner store before class…" Matsuda smiled and held out an apple to Raito, setting it down in front of him.

Raito blinked at it.

When he said nothing, Matsuda explained quickly, "Because I know you like to eat healthy so I thought…"

"Oh… well, thank you, Mat-"

"Ahem," Mikami interrupted, coming over to their desk. He looked at the apple and then at Matsuda sternly. "I'm sorry, Matsuda, but there's no eating allowed in the classroom."

"B-But-"

"I'll have to confiscate this," he said airily and kidnapped the apple. "Now," he said, turning around, "if everyone will open up their workbooks to last night's homework…"

Raito took out his workbook along with the rest of the class.

Matsuda stared, mouth agape. _HEY! I ran all the way down the street and almost got hit by cars for that! Why you… you…! _

"Matsuda."

He looked up, startled. "Oh? Yes?"

"Where's your workbook?"

Matsuda blinked and looked around his workspace. Nothing there. "Um… wow, guess I forgot it…"

Mikami groaned. "Where are _any_ of your materials?"

"I left them all at my room, I guess. I got up super early to get that apple, you know, so I left my stuff at home, thinking I'd be back in enough time to get it. But there was a lot of sidewalk traffic, people riding their bikes and runners, too! And they run all over the place and don't pay attention to walkers at all, so I started running and then-"

"All right, all right. Just… sit there and be silent."

"Okay…"

Mikami turned back around to the board and began to talk about the aforementioned assignment. Matsuda sat in his seat and sulked quietly, occasionally listening to Mikami and the answers that the students called out and mostly stole looks at Raito.

Raito looked back at him casually and sent a half-smile. That gave Matsuda an idea and so he took one of Raito's notebooks from his pile and ripped out a sheet of paper from it.

"What are you-"

Matsuda began writing before Raito could say anything. When he was done scribbling something down on the sheet, he slid it across the table to Raito and smiled at him. Raito rolled his eyes and read it, 'Hey Raito, this way we can talk and I won't get in trouble! Cool, huh?'

Raito frowned to himself. _What're we, in grade school?_

Nevertheless, he wrote back and slid it over to Matsuda.

'This is ridiculous, I feel like a ten-year-old.'

'Aw, it's okay! Don't you feel rebellious?'

'Hardly.'

'Well, anyhoo. You know, I was thinking that maybe we could hang out tonight after classes…'

'We always do, Matsuda.'

'I know, but I meant, just you and me. Um, and also… could you please call me Matsu?'

'Excuse me?'

'Matsu. It's what all my friends call me.'

'I've never heard anyone call you that.'

'I don't have a lot of friends.'

That was about the point when Mikami snatched the paper away from Matsuda's grasp and looked at it disdainfully. He looked back down at the student and said, "Really, Matsuda, note passing? What is this, grade school?"

Raito nodded his approval.

Mikami stuffed the note in his back pocket. "Matsuda, if you continue to disturb Raito, I will have to punish you."

"_Punish_?" he whined.

Mikami walked away once again and, with great effort, Matsuda was silent for the rest of the period. He did see Mikami reading the note when he thought no one was looking and that made Matsuda all the more upset. Not only was it embarrassing but Mikami was getting inside information on his plan to hang out with Raito that night. Surely-

"Class dismissed," Mikami announced distractedly. As all of the students gathered their belongings and shuffled out of the classroom. Matsuda was extremely happy to have use of his mouth again and stood up smiling next to Raito.

"So what do you think?" he asked eagerly.

"Think about what?"

"Going ou - I mean, hanging out with me tonight?"

Before Raito could answer, Mikami was standing next to the two of them.

"Oh, hello, professor," Raito said, brightening.

"Please, don't be so formal, Raito. _Teru_ will be just fine," he said with a leer that Matsuda didn't like at all.

Raito smiled a little. "Okay, Teru."

"Listen," Mikami seemed to almost whisper as he put his arm around Raito's shoulders and led him away from Matsuda. "Are you seeing anyone right now?"

Matsuda gasped.

"Oh… no, I'm not. I just had a breakup, really."

"Really? That's terrible…" Mikami smirked a little and then looked over at Matsuda disinterestedly. "Oh, are you still here, Matsuda?"

"_Yes_," he squealed, red in the face.

"You may leave now. Here," he said as he dropped a sheet of crumbled paper into Matsuda's hand. Mikami led Raito out of the door and Matsuda was left standing there, with that sheet of paper in his hand. He looked down eventually and saw that it was his and Raito's note from class. Only…

_All Raito's parts are cut out? What the…?_

-

_I've broken my own rule_, Near thought as he lay naked in his bed with Mello almost surely asleep next to him. It was around two o' clock and lately, between classes or just _whenever_, Near had found that he would get restless… and with restlessness came a strong urge to lightly tease Mello into jumping him.

Of course, Mello would never need that much teasing and seemed quite happy at Near's newfound sexual appetite. However, Near was confused by the feelings coursing through him. Not that he had never wanted to be intimate before but now it was just as if he couldn't get enough of it. During class that day, he had been quite uncomfortable and had to cross his legs during the entire session instead of sitting his normal way.

This was not good.

_But_, he thought, turning over to snuggled up to Mello's side, _I suppose it could be worse… If I didn't have Mello around or if he wasn't as… eager as he is… then I would have to deal with this problem all by myself. _And the very thought was just sickening to the poor boy. Embarrassing, too, and he blushed unknowingly as he sighed into Mello's soft skin.

Maybe it would be best if he tried to calm himself down a bit. After all, he had the apprenticeship with L to consider and already showing laziness in himself was not a good thing. Naturally, this wasn't the sort of thing he liked, being pitted against Mello - and he had an idea it was simply for L's amusement - but then again, Mello seemed to be a good sport about it, so why should he mind? It was healthy competition, after all, he told himself. If he was going to be a professional, he'd have to compete even with people close to him.

He raised his eyes slightly to Mello's face, twitching lightly in his sleep. His blond bangs were falling across his forehead, sticking there just a little by means of perspiration. Near had found that sometimes in Mello's sleep, his eyelids fluttered and you could see his blue eyes just underneath and just as it seemed he was about to wake up, he would close them altogether and be sleeping soundly again. Mello hardly ever moved in his sleep unless he was having a very violent dream in which case, Near got out of bed before being kicked out of it. And all of this he had learned just in a few months. He envied Matt a little but he hoped that soon, he would know just as much as Matt did.

_So… I'll do my best_, he determined, lowering his eyes again.

Just as Near decidedly closed his eyes, Mello's breathing hitched and his blue eyes opened like butterflies, squinting in the light from the open window. He looked down and let out a slow breath, noticing that Near had abandoned his normal fetal position in favor of cuddling up to him. That was the thing about Near, he guessed. It seemed like afterwards, he always curled up to himself and fell asleep that way, with his back to Mello. But whenever Mello woke up, there he was, treating Mello like his teddy bear.

Of course, this was absolute heaven. Mello should never have doubted Matt on this subject and for someone who had slept with very few people, Matt sure did know a lot. Naturally, sometimes, Mello felt a bit jealous. After all, Matt was a single-minded, gaming addict who chain-smoked on the tail of defeating a boss. He spent the majority of his time with some electrical device or another in front of his face and didn't much speak to anyone outside of their own group.

How had _he_ gotten more ass than Mello?

Still, that wasn't the issue at hand. The _issue at hand _could be most readily be described as becoming L's apprentice. It was just indescribable how much Mello wanted it. A "great opportunity" as he had described it to Near just didn't sum it up at all. Everything that he wanted to be as an artist was all wrapped up neatly in who L was. Mello wanted the fame, he wanted the recognition from L that he could - and _would_, goddamn it - become just as great as him if only given the chance.

He wanted to learn from L and help him out. If, for no other reason, in some vain hope that some of his talent would rub off on him, like osmosis. He had to admit, L was a bit of a bastard. His teaching methods were completely unorthodox and Mello was positive that he took sadistic pleasure in torturing his students. But underneath his weirdness and love of eating chocolates in front of Mello, there was…

Something.

So Mello wanted this more than anything. More than he wanted chocolate. More than he wanted Matt to shut his fat mouth about the "cute" noises he and Near made across the hall. More than he wanted Matsuda to stop _hugging_ him all the fucking time.

Which was one hell of a lot.

_So_, he thought, looking down at Near,_ I'll do my best._

Just then, Mello blinked as Near began to stir on his chest and ball his fists tightly. He yawned a little and then flipped on his belly, burying his face into his pillow.

Mello grinned and looked at him. "Restless again?"

Near frowned into the pillow. "Mello…"

"Yeah?"

"We should probably get up now…" he sighed and flopped over again.

"Why's that?" Mello reached over and pulled on Near until he rolled fully on top of him and they were staring at each other. "L's class isn't for another… uh," he groaned and looked over at the digital clock on the nightstand, "hour or so…"

"It'll probably take me that long to get out of bed," Near answered, rubbing at his eye.

Mello laughed and pushed Near up on his stomach until their lips met. Near struggled a bit, murmuring something about not getting started again. But Mello ignored his little objections - he could tell he was winning the battle anyway - and just when he rolled over, placing Near to the mattress, and slid his hand down under the covers-

_Ring ring ring._

"Fucking hell," Mello cried, easing off of Near. He glared over at the telephone as it continued to ring and finally, got out of bed, walking over to the other table by the kitchenette.

Near blushed and watched him walk over, listening in to half of the conversation.

"What the fuck is it? … _You_? … Hey! You jerk, I- … oh, shit, really? … Okay, okay. Well _sorry_, fuck! I'm kinda busy! … shut the fuck up."

Mello hung up the phone.

"Um… who was it?"

"L wants us to come down to his apartment right now," he groaned, bending down to pick up his pants and shirt. "That bastard, I should go down there naked… show him what for…"

"L?" Near sat up, the covers pooling around his waist. "How did he know we were both here?"

"Fuck if I know." Mello picked up Near's shirt and tossed it to him. Near neglected to catch it and it fell on his head, making him look like a ghost. Mello couldn't help but laugh.

The two of them got dressed quickly, Near pouting and worrying about not taking a shower first before leaving.

"Aw, will you relax?" Mello asked, shutting the door behind them. "Who even notices that smell anyway?"

"Matt."

"… It's _Matt_."

"True," Near sighed. "But still… What do you think L wants?"

"He's probably going to tell us which one he's picked," Mello said thoughtfully as they rounded the corner. His eyes rolled upward in thought. "It's kind of weird though, how could he have chosen so suddenly?"

Near frowned. "Maybe he already knew beforehand."

"Yeah… I wouldn't put it passed the bastard," Mello sneered.

"… Mm. Can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Well…" Near lowered his eyes. "You want to be L's assistant just like me… but you call him names and seem to generally dislike him…"

Mello blinked. "Okay… what's the question?"

A sigh. "Just, what do you really think of him?"

"… He's a twisted bastard! But, you know, I like him."

"… _What_?"

"And someday," Mello continued, ignoring Near's confusion, "I'm going to have a gallery with him. I'll show him I can be just as good as him!"

Near watched Mello's excitement with puzzlement and a bit of awe. Mello went on and on about his dreams of being one of Japan's - no, the world's most famous artists and how he would thank L at every speech he gave, even though he wasn't sure if artists were supposed to give speeches.

_Perhaps it's a love-hate relationship, depending on Mello's mood swings…_ he thought but it didn't seem like L had any hate for Mello at all.

They went into the teacher's dorms and climbed the stairs up to the third floor. As they walked down the hallway, they passed by Raito's dorm room. Even though he wasn't a teacher any longer, he wasn't required to move into student dorms and kept his same apartment. Mello was still on his rant about being famous but Near, looking to the side, noticed someone with long black hair and shining glasses standing in the shadows.

He blinked and tugged on Mello's sleeve, interrupting the blond.

"-will be amazing - What, Near?"

"Look over there…" Near nodded his head so as not to be conspicuous. Mello looked over his head and noticed the man as well, dismissing it.

"Think that's Mikami."

"Mikami?"

"The dude who's cruisin' for Raito."

"…" Near looked again as they were walking away. "Isn't he a teacher…?"

"So? Didn't stop Raito."

"I see," Near looked back at the ground worriedly.

Finally, they arrived at L's dorm. Mello knocked forcefully and was told by a voice inside that the door was open so he huffed and turned the knob. Upon entering, the two students were greeted with the sight of L's apartment, all neat and orderly. L himself was sitting in his familiar manner on the couch furthest from the door with a cupcake half-eaten in his hand.

"Hello," he greeted.

"Hello," Near returned the greeting and stepped in lightly, the opposite of Mello who slammed the door shut and came over to sit on the smaller couch next to L.

"You sure have great timing," he said, rolling his eyes. "What's this all about anyway?"

"Please, sit," he said to Near who had still been standing. Near nodded and took his seat beside Mello. They both looked at him expectantly. "Well," L continued, "as you know, I've been thinking on which of you to take for my assistant. So…"

"Yeah?" they echoed, nervous.

"But first, something more important."

"More important?" Mello wailed.

L reached beside him and took two sheets of paper. He flipped them over and two very different patterns were on each. He held them up by the corners in front of the boys and peeked his head over the top.

"What do you think?" he asked darkly, eyes scanning their expressions.

Mello swallowed heavily. _C-Could this be a way for him to test us? I wouldn't put it past someone like L… still…_

Near was thinking about the same thing and looked at each carefully.

"Well?" L insisted. "Which is better?"

"The plaid," said Mello.

"The plaid," said Near.

They regarded each other.

L groaned and set them down. "Disappointing. I haven't been able to reach a decision all day and I really need new drapes…"

"… WHAT?" Mello roared.

Near gasped, "Mello, please, calm down-"

"DRAPES!" he wailed, fuming. "I can't believe I even _look up _to you!"

L smiled. "Ah, so you finally admit it."

"Wha… I don't… FUCK YOU!"

Mello sat down with a huff and Near patted him consolingly on the shoulder.

L shook his head. "Really, don't be that way. Here, to cheer you up, I'll tell you who I've chosen just to be nice. Congratulations…

-

**to be continued.**

-

A/N: _Thanks for reading! Any thoughts?_


	6. Whimsy

_A/N: __Okay, okay, I know it took a long time but I worked all weekend and wasn't home… WAHH, don't be mad…_

-

**Azure Paler than the Sky.**

**six.**

… to no one."

Mello and Near paused and stared at L for a long moment, waiting for him to continue.

L frowned. "What're you looking at me for? I just said neither one of you have been chosen. I honestly can't pick and realized that during the first day. With Mello back on track, it's a complete toss up."

"S-So you're just not gonna _pick_?" Mello shouted in disbelief.

"I didn't say that."

Near tilted his head, confused. "What are you saying?"

L rolled his eyes upward in thought. "Well," he said, picking up his cupcake and taking a bite, "let me put it to you this way. I'm at a loss for the right one to pick as of right now. Still, I need some help and I refuse to work with anyone else. So I've decided to have the both of you help me and afterwards and from what I experience with the both of you, I will make my choice based on that."

The boys exchanged glances.

"What do you think?" L licked his sugary thumb.

"What do _I_ think?" Mello asked, incredulous. "So your brilliant plan is to use us both up and then take whoever you want at the end, huh?"

"Mm. That sounds about right."

"What… why you… grr…" Mello found himself without comment and so he settled down into his seat and scowled at the older man.

Near continued to sit beside him, soaking this all in. _Well… if this is his decision, at least we can put off having to go through this contest… but with the way he put it, will this mean we're still competing even as we work? That amount of pressure… I'm not even sure if he WANTS us to do well in classes. And just how are we supposed to compete this way? Will he_-

"-just to let you know, L, I don't care what you say, I'm _going_ to win," Mello said, standing in front of the loveseat. His fist was raised toward the older man and his blue eyes were glistening with excitement.

L smirked a little. "Good, Mello."

Near looked up at the blond, blinking. _He really is pumped up about this…_

"And what about you, Near?"

Near turned to see L staring at him. He blushed a little and raised his hand to a lock of hair that curled at his earlobe. He tugged on it gently and said, "Yes, I'll try my best."

"Good, good. Now, as for when we'll be starting, I think October will be a good month."

Mello blinked. "We have to wait till next month? Why?"

"It's my birth month."

"… Yeah, so?"

"I'll be cheery."

"… Right," Mello groaned.

"Then it's settled," L said, standing up. He regarded the two of them. "Please be prepared to work because I will not tolerate laziness nor lollygagging."

Mello, who was on his way to the door and currently had the doorknob in hand, turned around to frown at L. "What do you mean, laziness and lollygagging? This is like volunteer work, shouldn't you be nice or something?"

"No," L said simply.

"Fine! Come on, Near!" Mello made a dramatic exit, slamming the door while Near was still seated on the couch.

Near blinked at the closed door and got up, wondering slightly how long it would take Mello to realize he was not right behind him. He shuffled over to the door and opened it, turning around to bid goodbye to L.

"Thank you for-"

He quieted when he realized L was standing next to him and made a small noise in the back of his throat when L placed a comforting hand atop his head. He patted there for a moment before taking his hand and shoving it back into his pocket.

"Take care of Mello, Near. Don't let him walk out in traffic."

Near smiled a little and nodded. "Yes, okay."

The door shut behind him and when Near was out in the hallway, he looked down the corridor and saw Mello there, tapping his foot impatiently.

"What're you, waiting for October?" he yelled.

-

The journey through the rest of September was an uneventful one. The campus was a quiet place and most of the faculty were extremely happy for that. After all, none of them wanted rambunctious students running amok on campus but then again, it was boring and more of the teachers found it hard to concentrate on their lesson plans. It grew to be problematic. Especially for one sculpture professor who already had a large distraction in the form of a beautiful brunet student who he spent time trying to get to know.

But it seemed that every time Mikami caught Raito while he was alone in the hallway or on his way to his room, Matsuda would be running up with one gift or another for the man. This was highly frustrating. But Mikami was not a professor for nothing and he learned Matsuda's silly tricks after the first couple of times.

On one day when there was no class, Mikami saw Raito walk across the courtyard. Amongst all of the students, he stood out and Mikami noticed how beautifully his amber hair shown in the sunlight and one particularly frisky lock of hair kept bouncing in his eyes. Mikami was in the shadows of the building and saw Matsuda running up behind Raito with a bouquet of what seemed to be corner-store flowers.

Mikami moved from the shadows then to get closer without being seen.

"Raito! Raito!" he called, running.

Raito turned on his heel after hearing his name and his inquisitive expression immediately faded into despondence. He stood there as Matsuda caught up with him and practically shoved the bouquet into Raito's arms.

"M-Matsuda, what's-"

"Come on, Raito, I told you. _Matsu_," he earnestly corrected.

Raito cleared his throat. "Matsuda. What are these flowers for?" he asked, studying them. Upon closer examination, most of the petals had fallen off and they all seemed to be half dead.

"For you. I just was thinking about you, you know, so… I-I know some of the petals fell off but that's cause I was running and I thought about taping-"

"Excuse me, am I interrupting?"

Both Raito and Matsuda turned around to see Mikami standing behind the brunet with the most fantastic bouquet either of them had ever seen. Thirty roses in colors of red, white and yellow were swirled around each other, each of them in full bloom. Raito gasped delightedly and Matsuda looked like he'd just been shot.

"Oh, Teru," Raito sighed, taking the flowers that were handed to him. The bouquet completely squished Matsuda's and the rest of his petals fell off.

"I just happened to pass a flower shop today and I thought of you," Mikami said, watching Matsuda's expression drop out of the corner of his eye. "I hope you like roses."

"They're my favorite flower," Raito hummed. He looked up at Mikami. "How about we go back to my apartment? If you don't mind… I could make us lunch."

"That sounds great."

Matsuda stood there, mouth wide open as the two of them walked towards the dorms. He thought, _no way can I let him be alone with dear Raito! I'll have to join in too!_ And he ran in their direction. He ended up eating lunch with the two of them as well and Mikami suffered in silence throughout the meal.

So it went. However other couples on campus were not nearly as dysfunctional and in the time that they were waiting for their almost -apprenticeship to begin, Mello and Near got along quite famously. They grew to become well-known in the dorms for screwing all the time. This was a product of not only Near's newfound love of not showering after sex but also his vocal ability and Mello's strength.

Matt usually sat next door while they were over in Near's apartment and played videogames or hung around with either Raito or Matsuda when they came over. Naturally, his company left relatively soon when they heard Near's mewls and cries from across the hall.

"Thanks so much for the food, Matt," Matsuda said as he headed for the door. Raito was close behind.

"W-Wait, guys, you don't have to go," Matt called, sweatdropping.

"Ooh, yes, we do. Bye."

The door shut.

Matt sighed and sunk back into the couch. In all honesty, he was happy for his friends and that their relationship was doing so well. They both deserved happiness, and in Matt's opinion, they were getting a large, sticky amount of it. This was all well and good, but when Mello came back to their room at night to sleep and hadn't taken a shower beforehand, Matt woke up smelling the way he did.

Not that he minded but others were starting to whisper of a suspected threesome.

So the day that Mello and Near had once again scared off Matt's company, he decided to do something about it. He left the dorms and went out for a while in order to give Mello and Near some time to themselves. He didn't return until around seven that evening and as he came down the hallway, all noises had ceased. Matt had decided to wait until Mello came back to their room for the night until trying to talk to him.

He approached their door and opened it, greeted by two loud gasps. Matt blinked over at the two on the bed, both wrapped up in each other. Mello was glaring over his shoulder at Matt and Near yipped and hid beneath the blankets.

"Matt!" Mello yelled. "You pervert, get out of here!"

Matt sweatdropped. "Dude, this is _my_ room too! And my bed!"

"Only half of it's yours!"

"Then stay in _your_ half!"

"Matt," Near groaned, still hiding.

Matt sighed and walked towards the door again. "Okay, okay, I'll just… go hang out in Near's room for a bit…"

"Come back in an hour," Mello said.

"… An _hour_?"

"GET OUT!"

The door slammed shut.

After that, Matt decided he really didn't care. Mello and Near could do what they wanted, when they wanted and, for the most part, where they wanted, but Matt did make them a 'occupied' sign that they were free to hang outside of any room they happened to be using. Of course, it was soundly rejected.

Other than the sounds of fornicating teenagers, the campus was indeed too quiet to be properly enjoyed. This is why, on the afternoon of the first of October, Dean Wammy held a teacher's meeting in his office. The heat of the summer had almost completely gone and the wind replaced it, gently rustling the multicolored leaves that had just started to fall from the trees and collect in the gutters. They made scraping sounds under the ratty tennis shoes L wore as he crossed the courtyard to the main office.

Even though L was not one for heat, he was already missing the summer weather as it permitted him to go barefoot. Now as it got messier to go out, he was forced to wear the only pair of shoes he owned. Raito had always gotten on him for his lack of interest in style, L noted as he remembered that Raito would not be invited to the teacher's meetings any longer.

He opened the door to Dean Wammy's office once he was inside the building and, not surprisingly, everyone had shown up already. Mr. Wammy looked up from his desk and smiled kindly at L, motioning to an empty chair in the circle. "Please," he said, "sit."

L did so, crawling up in the chair in his usual manner and only received a funny look from Mikami in the process.

"Well, shall we begin?" Wammy asked, looking around. "Thank you all for coming, first of all. I hope no one's been unconvinced."

"Oh no," Takada sighed, looking upward, "the exams are a few months away and there really isn't much going on right now."

"Yes, I've noticed how solemn the students seem lately… perhaps… they are bored?" Wammy wondered.

"It's possible."

"It's a university," Mikami stressed, looking around. "It's supposed to be a quiet place where the students can study."

"These are art students," L coughed, "and rarely do any studying. They need excitement or their work will fail."

"We can't just have them run amok."

"Who said anything about amok?"

Mikami frowned. "It's up to the students to make their own excitement. They're in college now, we can't baby-sit them. We've got our own troubles."

"Like obsessively stalking students…"

"What was that?"

"_I've _got an idea," Wammy interrupted, sending the two a questioning glance. "Suppose we let the students have something that is just theirs? I've heard of other colleges having radio stations of their own, maybe…"

"Oh," said Misa, sitting at his side. "That sounds like fun!"

All the others nodded.

"Wait just a minute," said Mikami, "who will man the broadcast? It should be someone responsible."

Wammy nodded. "True."

L raised his hand. "I know someone who would be right for the job. He's very friendly and somewhat outgoing. I think he would be quite entertaining."

"Who?" Takada asked.

"Actually, someone from the photography department. Matt Jeevas."

"… Matt?" asked Mr. Gerri, chuckling. He sat across the room, his legs crossed as he thought about his student. "Well…"

Wammy looked at him. "That sounds like a good choice to me. I've never had any complaints about Matt and he seems to be a nice person. If he wants to accept the position, it's his."

Mikami sighed.

"The next thing I'd like to discuss," Wammy continued, "is banning chicken fingers from the cafeteria."

-

"Come on, Near!" Mello shouted, racing out of the smaller teen's bedroom. It was the day after the teacher's meeting and time for L's first class of the week. Mello was only too excited to see if today would be the day they begin to help L out and, despite Near's quiet nature, he was quite excited as well.

"I'm coming," he said, pulling his shirt on over his head as he exited. He shuffled quickly to catch up with the blond and the two of them made their way to the painter's building and their classroom. By the time they got there, the last of the students were coming in and L wasn't surprised that they, on this of all days, were not late.

"Hey, L," Mello greeted, coming over to stand next to the man. "S'up?"

"You seem quite happy, Mello. Good morning. Hello to you, too, Near."

Near smiled. "Hello, L."

"_Yeah_, so, when do we start?" Mello asked, impatient.

L blinked. "Start what?"

"… What do you mean, what? Helping you out with painting and shit!"

"… Oh, yes, that's right. Almost slipped my mind."

"HUH?"

L smirked. "Take your seat, Mello, I didn't forget. After class, we will talk more about what will be going on today but for now we have class."

Mello perked right up. "Ah, you joker. Why should we have to go to class anymore anyway? You admitted yourself, we're the best there is!"

"I don't remember saying that," he responded, lifting an eyebrow.

Near sighed. "Come on, Mello, let's take our seats."

"Fine, fine," Mello droned, following Near. "He'll probably go easy on us anyway now; after all, we're his right-hand men!"

Near sat down. "Mello, please don't jinx us. Keep your voice down."

"My voice _is_ down."

L had hear Mello's proclamation all too well though. _Easy, huh…?_

When everyone was seated and settled, L cleared his throat to garner attention. "Today we'll be doing a mixture of confidence building and becoming familiar with the things you paint. Now, most of you paint nature scenes a lot, which is cliché but fine for now. We'll be taking a little fieldtrip outside. Everyone up."

Mello smiled to Near as they got up again. "See?"

Near shook his head.

When the class made its way outside and past the stone courtyard, Mello was shocked and appalled to learn L's plan for their fieldtrip. He made each one of them stand out in the field with their arms out to their sides, waving in a leaf-in-the-wind motion.

Other students walked by and jeered at all of them as L sat in the grass and called, "More whimsical, Mello!"

Mello howled sadly, "Ah, L, you really suck!"

-

**to be continued.**

-

A/N: _So, any thoughts? I promise the next one will be sooner, okay?_


	7. Gospel

A/N: _Someone shoot me. XD_

-

**Azure Paler than the Sky.**

**seven.**

When class was over and everyone had walked back into the classroom, Mello was fuming silently. The student packed up their items and headed out like the herd of cattle they were and left Mello and Near alone with their professor, who came trudging inside soon after everyone else was leaving. He kicked off his tennis shoes by the door and let it close behind him as he walked over to his stool and climbed upon it.

"Well, that was fun," he sighed, sitting down. "Lots of exercise. Not that I mean to question you on exercise, Mello, as I'm sure you get quite a lot." He regarded Near.

"What the fuck?" Mello shouted, red in the face.

Near sighed, blushing as well.

L looked up thoughtfully. "We should be getting started, don't you think?"

Mello blinked. "Oh. Right." He looked around behind him and then turned back to L. "Uh, so, here, or…?"

"No, no." L got up once again and headed for the door, hunched over. "Come on, I have another studio on the third floor."

"Another?" both boys asked, looking at him.

L said nothing as he opened the door and went out of the hallway. Mello and Near followed him, letting the door to the classroom close quietly behind them. The hallway was dim even with the windows open as the sun was setting and the days were already growing shorter and darker. L's feet padded on the cold linoleum ahead of them and the boys' shoes clicked and squeaked accordingly.

"This is so _cool_," Mello whispered to his lover excitedly. He had the look of an astronaut about to land on Mars.

Near smiled and nodded. "It's interesting but it's also a little scary… I didn't know there were studios on the third floor. I thought it was all attic."

"Yeah. It's like one of those popular horror movies. L's this creepy teacher and he's lured us into his sex-lair where no one can hear our screams," Mello mused.

Near frowned. "I'd expect that from Matt."

"… I know, we hang out too much."

"It's fine, but maybe we could keep the 'sex-lair' to a minimum."

"Okay, maybe you're right."

L sulked inwardly at Mello's depiction of him but said nothing as they climbed the staircase at the back of the corridor. There were bare light bulbs hanging from the high ceilings that swung from side to side as the three climbed to the third floor. When they got to the hallway, there were only three doors down the long hallway. L went up to the first door and took a key from his back pocket, unlocking the door and it opened before him.

He walked inside without a word to either of his two disciples and they decided to go ahead and follow inside. Both gasped at the large space presented to them; a large room, twice the size of their classroom, with dirty linoleum floors and a wall of windows on the far wall. On the other wall by the door, it was nothing but ceiling-to-floor mirrors and on the corners, some of them were cracked. There was a table close to them that had paints spread out on it and charcoal with chairs surrounding it. A huge easel was over in the center of the room, devoid of canvas.

"Wow…" Near said, his eyes rolling over everything. He took another step forward and something cracked beneath his shoe, causing him to look down at a bit of glass. He looked over at L, standing around with hands in his pockets and bare feet. "L, there's glass on the floor, are you sure you want to be walking around barefoot…?"

L blinked over at him looked down, lifting one of his feet. Near's eyes rounded when they were all cut up with a few cuts still bleeding. "Oh," he said. "You're right."

Near sweatdropped. _He… doesn't mind that…?_

"I was in here cleaning up for the past week so I supposed I got a bit scuffed," L said, looking out of the window.

Mello shook his head. "This isn't clean. There's glass all over the floor and it smells like rubber!"

"I have an apron in the closet if you'd like to bring the place up to code, Mello."

"… No thanks."

L smiled. "Okay, then. I'll be right back, there are some things I need to get from the storage room down the hall. Make yourselves comfortable," he said as he went to the door again and left.

The two were left alone and Mello smiled brightly, stretching his arms over his head as he walked up behind Near. "This is so great, I can't wait to learn all about L's technique. What about you?"

Near looked up when he realized Mello's arms coming down and around him, pulling him to the blond's chest. He said, "I thought you learned a lot from behind his partner for the fundraiser."

"Well, kinda, but I guess he just told me how to stand and I was pretty nervous so I was quiet."

Near giggled a little.

Mello looked down. "What?"

"You being quiet…"

"… W - hey!"

Near continued to laugh until Mello leant down and placed his mouth on the crook of Near's neck. That quieted him down a little until his laughter was just a small moan and Mello increased the pressure with his teeth, pulling Near closer. The little moan he let out carried through the hollow room, right to L's ears as he reentered.

L walked right past the two and the surprise of his presence shocked them away from each other.

"L, you were watching," Mello accused.

"I was doing no such thing." He set down a canvas by the table, leaning it.

Near cleared his throat shyly. "Sorry, L…"

"You have nothing to apologize for, Near. I'm sure Mello started it."

"What? Why is it always me?" Mello cried.

"I don't know; why is it always you?"

"Ugh!"

"Now, let's get down to business, shall we?" L turned back to the table and moved some things around. There were small tubs of rocks and minerals, different colors around and L moved them to the other side of the table along with some paintbrushes to make room. He then sat at one of the chairs and motioned to the other empty chairs for the boys to do that same.

"Well," Near said, sitting, "do you know what you would like for us to do?"

"Yeah, what're we sitting here for?" Mello asked. "Shouldn't we be working now? Aren't you going to show us something we can use for our own art?"

L rolled his eyes. "First of all, I don't know what I want you to do. Second of all, Mello, this is not PE, we do not jump in and run around aimlessly. Well, that's not true. We are going to run around aimlessly."

"… We are?"

"Yes. You must know that ideas don't come when you want them to. Before beginning, artists flop around like giant tuna on deck for a while."

Near looked confused. "Tuna…"

Mello groaned, "_What_? So we're just gonna sit here and stare at each other until you get an idea?"

"Until _we_ get an idea. The whole point of this is so you two can be of assistance."

"… We're _still _gonna stare at each other like idiots."

-

The next day, the sun was rising over the shedding trees and lit up the multi-colored ground like it was on fire. It was around seven in the morning, when the campus was still quiet and sleepy, that there was a knock on the door of Matt and Mello's dorm room. Matt turned over in bed sleepily and moaned to Mello, "Get the door, would ya…"

"Fuckin' hell, Matt, you're closer…" mumbled Mello, eyes barely open.

More knocking.

"Okay, okay," Matt groaned, getting up when Mello pulled the covers over his head. He got out of bed in just his red boxers, scratching at his backside as he opened the door with his goggles hanging around his neck. "Hello…?"

"Good morning, Matt," L said, blinking expectantly.

"…L? Good morning," he said, putting his goggles on. "Uh, what's up?"

"I actually came to see you."

"Really? Oh, come in." He backed away from the door, making way. L nodded and walked into the unlit room. Matt flicked the light switch on and watched slightly amusedly as Mello cursed and scrambled around in bed as L stared owlishly at the blond. Mello finally sat up in bed, the covers around his waist as he squinted at L.

"What're you here for so early in the morning, huh?" Mello asked, hoarse.

"I'm surprised. You're shy to show your body to me yet you flaunt it to the rest of the school," said L, his thumb pulling at his bottom lip studiously.

Mello huffed. "Pervert, you just want to see?"

"So?"

"Huh?" Mello whirled his head around.

"Here," L sighed, tossing something to the blond. Mello caught it and looked down at it - a key. "It's to the studio. You should have around the clock access, don't you think? Near has one as well."

"Oh… thanks," he said, staring at it.

L turned back to Matt. "Now, as for you, I have a proposition for you from Wammy. He's interested in starting a school-wide radio show for the students and we've agreed that you would be good for the job. Would you like it?"

Matt blinked, eyes wide. "Radio show?"

Mello looked up. "What the fuck? When was this decided?"

"A few days ago."

"Well… well, sure I'll do it…" Matt stood there, scratching the back of his head in thought. A smile grew on his face as the seconds passed and he was soon beaming at L. "Yeah! I've never had my own radio station before! This'll be great - I can spread the gospel!"

L frowned.

Mello laughed. "He means about _video games_."

"Ah, I see. Well, come with me, Matt." L took Matt by the hand and led him to the door. "You're going to be on the air in a little while and it's my job to run you through the rules."

"… In a _little while_?" Matt screeched, being dragged. "L, why didn't you tell me _earlier_?"

"I was busy. Come along."

"B-But I'm not dressed!"

"It's radio, not television."

"Uh, I-"

The door shut. Mello blinked and looked back down at the key and pulled the string that was attached to it around his neck. He sighed and rolled over, burying his head under the covers.

-

"I'm so _excited_," Matsuda hollered, dancing around the living room.

Raito looked up, frowning a bit at Matsuda's constant hollering. He hadn't been quiet since he arrived at around eleven o' clock and started going on around Matt being on the radio at noon. Raito had already known this, being told by both L and Mikami at different times after the teacher's meeting. He was quite excited for Matt as well but probably not as much as Matsuda who ran around Raito's kitchen preparing cakes and other snacks.

The younger man came into the living room then just as Raito turned the radio on and set down a cake with white frosting and pieces of strawberry and kiwi decorating it. Raito blinked at it and then at the platters of cookies and muffins as well.

"Matsuda, you're preparing as if L was coming over. Is this all for us?"

"Yes," he replied cheerily. He had a white apron on that was tied tightly in a bow behind him. "Please, eat as much as you want!"

"I'm, uh, really not that into sweets."

Matsuda blinked and looked down towards the floor. "O-Oh… well, that's okay… um…"

"Well, I mean, I'll have some," Raito amended, feeling a little guilty at seeing Matsuda embarrassed. He cracked a smile when Matsuda looked up. "Just don't expect me to be like that glutton L and eat everything. You have some too, okay?"

"Okay!" Matsuda was instantly happy again and slid off his apron and sat on the floor next to Raito. He looked at the radio on the table and heard the small line of static there. "Matt must be really nervous…"

Ratio shook his head, taking a cookie. "No, I bet he's fine. He's really not that shy of a person."

"Oh, I guess not," Matsuda mused. He sighed and picked at a piece of cake as he leaned back into the couch. _That's right_, he thought, watching Raito out of the corner of his eye, _Matt and Raito were around each other a lot last year… so they know a lot about each other… Ah! I got it! I'll ask Matt about Raito to get some inside information… Surely that'll put me at an advantage where Mikami is concerned! Ha! He won't win after all!_

"Oh, here it is," said Raito, leaning over and turning up the volume.

"… _Is it on? It is? … Okay! This is Matt with the Irai noon-hour radio show!"_

Matsuda clapped his hands excitedly. "Yay, Matt!"

"_Anyways, thanks for tuning in. I'm supposed to be promoting school spirit and safe sex and stuff like that but I don't think anybody listens to that kind of stuff. At least not Irai students - that's right, I'm looking at you, Mel. Anyway. Here's some announcements from the board. Chicken fingers are now off the menu in the cafeteria, as is the mayonnaise. Uh, second off, janitor of thirty-nine years, Ed Kikiomora was just fired for indecent exposure in the freshman halls. That sucks. _

"… _Huh? Oh. Okay. Just as a reminder to students, everyone has to stay out of the second floor bathroom in the sculpture building. For a week. Right. Don't really know why. I think the septic tank blew or something. Oh, that reminds me! I was playing Super Mario Sunshine again yesterday - beat it with all Shine Sprites, fuck yes - and I noticed for the first time ever that Peach really doesn't look good in a pony tail. _

"_I think her face is too long. I'm probably just picky though. Oh, also, if you guys want, you can send me mail and stuff and I'll respond to it on the show! Sounds like fun, huh? I'll answer anything! You want cheat codes? I'm your man! I'll even give you advice if, like, your best friend is a creeper who likes bestiality and stuff. Yeah, I actually know a lot."_

Raito groaned aloud and placed a hand over his eyes. "Matt!"

"I think he's doing well," Matsuda noted. "We should send him postcards!"

"Good Lord."

"_Really, I mean it! Any problems you have. Jeez, wish I could write to myself. I've got problems, like, well just last night, I got so annoyed because the walls were shak- Ahh! Okay, okay… sheesh… Anyway, anyone who lives in the C dorms know what I'm talking about. Pretty awkward, huh? You're sitting around, trying to clip your toenails or something and then hear lusty cries of passion! S'like something out of a novel or something. _

"_Oh, does anyone else read those romance novels? With like sex on the piano? S'awesome, right? I know what we're all thinking - let's head over to the music department!"_

-

"MATT!"

"Mello, please calm down-"

"Calm down? Didn't you hear what he _said_?"

"Yes but no one really knows-"

"_Everyone_ knows!"

"Yo, guys! Did you catch my broadcast? Wasn't I awesome? Uh… Mel?"

"YOU ASSHOLE!"

"AH! MEL, CUT IT OUT!"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT!"

"MELLO'S GONE CRAZY!"

"Mello, don't throw things, please-"

"WE HAVE SAFE SEX!"

"M-Mello-"

"WE DON'T SHAKE THE WALLS!"

"COME ON, MEL, IT'S GOOD RADIO!"

"I'LL SHOW YOU GOOD RADIO!"

-

The lights were out all over the apartment save for a few scented candles. The windows were open to let in the slightly chilled breeze in front the outside and the moon was full over the Irai campus. From inside the apartment of one teacher, there were soft moans coming from the couch.

Mikami was leaning over Raito and placing tender kisses along his jaw line, his hand on the brunet's shoulder, holding him in place. Mikami's jacket and shirt had been discarded sometime earlier in the evening as were Raito's, the only thing on the young man was his pants, which were halfway unzipped. Raito made a noise and pushed Mikami back, angling his neck so that he could capture the man's lips in a heated kiss.

Mikami moaned at the contact and removed his hand from Raito's shoulder, and pushing down on his abdomen, laying him to the cushions.

He trailed his fingertips to the zipper of Raito's pants and smiled. "Should we go to the bedroom?" he asked.

Raito blushed a little and turned away. "Mm… I don't know."

"Don't be nervous," Mikami purred, leaning down on top of him.

Raito sighed when the man's hands found their way to his waistband and pulled down at them. He took in a sharp breath and exhaled shakily, "T-Teru--

Mikami woke up with a start, looking around. He was breathing heavily and his sheets were wet and sticking to his legs. He looked around, alone in bed as usual, and frowned.

"Shit."

-

**to be continued.**

-

A/N: _XD Wahahahaha. Thoughts?_


	8. Honesty

_A/N: __HAULED ASS._

-

**Azure Paler than the Sky.**

**eight.**

"He's… _energetic_."

"Yes, he is."

Both Matt and Near lay sprawled out on the floor of the apartment in the aftermath of World War 3. The furniture was knocked over, things had fallen all over the already cluttered floor, a good section of Matt's video game collection had been whizzed around the room as well. It was about one in the morning when Mello had gotten tired of terrorizing Matt and left in a huff, slamming the door behind him and leaving his best friend and lover to clean up the mess. But it would more than likely be waiting for him when he got back.

Near had been quite the mediator during the fight, as he always was, but this time, he couldn't keep Mello at bay and the two older boys rolled about the apartment, causing a ruckus. Now he was sure that the rumors about a threesome between he, Mello and Matt would grow to epic proportions. He shook the thoughts away though and sighed, relaxing on the floor.

Matt looked over at him and grinned. "So. Was it as good for you as it was for me?"

"Oh, Matt!" Near huffed and blushed, closing his eyes tightly.

The redhead giggled and patted Near on the head consolingly. "S'all right, kiddo. Now that Mello's gone sand storming out of here, I get a chance to hang out with you. We never talk anymore, you know? It's like we're growing apart…" Matt punctuated his claims with an overdramatic sniffle.

Near bought in, turning to him and saying, "Oh no, Matt, it's just that we've all been so busy lately, you included…"

"Ah, I know. I'm guilty. We're all getting older."

"Yeah," Near sighed, looking to the ceiling.

"How's it feel to be seventeen, anyway? I remember that age like it was yesterday. All the good times. Bet you got hair under your arms, huh?"

"…"

"Lemme see!"

"Matt!"

"Fine, fine. I'll check later. Well, at least we know Mello will never change. Kid's like the energizer bunny."

Near nodded, smiling a little. "Yes. It's funny… it was just a little while ago that he was upset with me for sharing my first kiss with a rabbit."

Matt blinked. _And I was just talking about bestiality on my radio show! … Maybe Near will send me postcards…_

"It was a stuffed rabbit, you know, the one in my room that I used to carry around," Near continued and he didn't notice Matt's expression drop. "I was young, I can't believe he got so upset about it. Honestly, he doesn't see me getting upset knowing that I wasn't his first kiss. Childish things like that he really should've grown out of."

There was laughter and Near looked over to see Matt grinning. "Ah, man! I remember that!"

"… Remember what?"

"Our first kiss. Dude, the memory is like yesterday and I had almost forgotten until you brought it up…" Matt stopped then and looked up, his thoughts fading on his lips. He really _had _forgotten, hadn't he?

"Your… your first… excuse me, what did you say?"

"Me and Mel's first kiss," he said, pointing to himself, "like when we were fifteen. I guess that's just what happens when you've known someone for that long, it just… happens."

Had Matt even looked at Near, he would have seen the horrified expression on the boys face as he lay on his side, staring owlishly at Matt. _Just happens? It… but… and Mello didn't even tell me! And he says I'm keeping secrets… I-It wasn't even that long ago! So they sleep in the same bed every night and… just how many times did they kiss, anyway? Should I ask? No… I… Oh, Mello!_

"Uh, Near? You okay?"

"Oh…" Near was shaken out of his thoughts and saw Matt in front of him, propped up on one elbow. "Oh, I'm fine. I just didn't know."

"Really? I thought he told you."

"He didn't."

"… Okay… well, this is kinda awkward. Really, it was like four years ago. He probably doesn't-"

_Ring ring ring._

Both boys looked up at the phone over by the bed. Near sighed as he rose to his feet and walked over, picking the receiver off of the cradle. He held it up to his ear and said, "Hello, this is Near."

"Ah, there you are. I called your dorm just now with now answer."

"L?"

"Yes."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I've been here with Matt…"

"Where's your counterpart?"

Near frowned a little. "I don't know."

"I see. Well, you best just bring yourself up here then. We'll round up Mello some other time."

"Where… oh! Oh, all right. I'll be right there."

"Good." The line went dead.

Near turned around, setting the phone back down. "Sorry, Matt," he said as he headed towards the door. "I have to meet L down at the studio. Please… if you see Mello, tell him to come as well."

"Okay. You sure you're all-"

The door shut.

Matt blinked. "Hm. That can't be good."

-

_It was a long time ago_, thought Near as he climbed the staircase in the painter's building. He had been thinking long and hard about it since leaving Matt's apartment. He knew he shouldn't - Matt was his friend after all. But, really, Mello should have said something. Not that Near would even think of being jealous. The very thought itself was too childish.

_But then again… if it was one kiss that Matt told me about… couldn't there be more? _The door opened as he turned the handle and just as he looked up through his thick, white bangs, his eyes rounded. Standing in the moonlight that came from the wall of open windows was L, shirt off and barefoot in the middle of the room, his hair falling into his eyes. He looked up at the doorway upon hearing Near enter and smiled lightly in a way that made Near blush.

"Oh, L…" he murmured and then the door shut behind him and he snapped to attention, fidgeting with one finger in his hair. "Ah, um, hello…"

"Near, prompt as usual," L hummed, turning to face him. He motioned for the boy to come to him.

Near smiled politely, walking over. "Did you get an idea?"

"Something I want to try out."

Near nodded and just as he was within arm's reach of his teacher, L reached out and grabbed the boy around the waist, pulling him in close. Near gasped at the feeling of L's bare flesh against him and looked up in question. "L, what are you-"

"Relax; contrary to popular belief, I am not like the other teachers here and do not take pleasure in molesting young students. Understand?"

Near nodded quickly.

"Good. Now, I'm just going to…" He took Near's left hand in his and kept his other arm wrapped securely around his waist. He leaned into Near a bit and on instinct, Near leant back and in the mirrors which caught Near's eye, they looked as if they were dancing with the moonlight coming as a silhouette behind them. Near was so interested in their image that when L said, "Now, stay there," and walked away, Near almost fell backwards.

"Ahh-"

"Ah. I said stay," said L, holding up Near's back with one hand. Near caught his balance and looked at L upside-down, his bangs falling back from his forehead. L smirked. "See, this is why I asked for Mello as well. So he could do these things and I wouldn't have to touch you."

A frown tugged at Near's mouth but he determined not to let it show.

L shook his head. "No, no, it's not that I have anything against touching you, it's just that when I do…" He took a step forward and put his arms around the boy's waist again, leaning over until their noses were three inches apart. Near make a little noise and turned pink. "_That_ happens," L continued.

"Mm… I just…"

L blinked, his large eyes boring into Near's. "You're a little tense. What's wrong?"

"… Nothing." Near averted his eyes. "I can stand now," he said and L took that to mean 'please stop holding me now' so he did and walked over to the wall of mirrors. He leaned on one and looked at Near's body from afar studiously.

Near was very aware of L's eyes on him and maybe for the first time in his life, he understood what Mello had said about being watched and that it was an odd feeling. He tried to keep his balance but something was bothering him and he just had to ask…

"L… why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

"I was crushing paints earlier and got warm."

"Oh…"

"Does it bother you?"

"N-No, of course not…"

L nodded silently.

Near looked over at him, caught his gaze and then looked away again. "Are you going to use us as models?"

"It's crossed my mind. Does it not appeal to you?"

"Well… not this position…"

"Oh, you can stand normally now. It's not going to work."

Near sighed and stood upright just as the door opened and the both of them looked over towards the door. Mello was standing there, hair disheveled and a smudge of chocolate at the corner of his mouth. He yawned widely and walked in, scratching his side.

"Nice of you to join us, Mello," L said, watching him.

Mello looked over his shoulder and then halted, turning around fully. "Uh, L, you're…"

"_Yes_, I was crushing paints earlier and got warm."

"… All right… um, what's this big emergency that we need to come down here in the middle of the night? You done flopping around yet?" He grinned.

L returned the grin with a smirk. "Perhaps. I was thinking about having one of you model."

Mello gaped suddenly. "Aw, no, L! I don't wanna just lay around, I wanna-"

"Don't twist my words, Mello. Who said it would be you?"

Mello blinked and then looked over at Near, who was staring at L in a confused fashion. Then his eyes widened a little and he made a small noise which L ignored. Mello pointed. "Near?"

"Yes, Near."

"Near doesn't want to model," Mello explained.

"I think he can answer for himself. Don't you want to model, Near?"

"I think-"

"See, he would like to try."

"He didn't say shit!" Mello complained.

L gave a little tilt of the head and examined Mello. "Oh, are you jealous, Mello? But you just got done saying how you didn't want to laze about here."

"I'm not jealous," Mello laughed incredulously. His gaze flickered from Near to L. "I'm just looking out for his best interest!"

Near frowned. "Oh, is that so…?"

"Huh? D'you say something, Near?"

"Not a word. You know, L… I think I… might like to try it… if you want." He looked aside, his eyes downcast.

L smiled. "Good."

The boys didn't get out of the studio until four in the morning and by then both were very tired. Mello had been recruited to help L crush paints and mix them and Near was busy when L had spare time - he would direct the boy in almost a hundred different poses, angling his body in the moonlight. Mello would glance over from the table at the two and frown at the way L touched Near but continued to do his work.

When they exited the room and said goodbye to their teacher, Mello was stretching his arms above his head. He sighed, "God, are we going to be at his beckon call all the time now? We're not going to get any sleep…"

Near had already started down the hallway and said faintly, "You wanted this responsibility."

"Well, yeah," Mello responded, catching up. He reached down for Near's hand but Near swung it forward and put it in his pocket. Mello blinked and nudged his shoulder - it just occurred to him that they had not made eye-contact since he entered the studio. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Aw, come on. You're not mad at me for trashing the apartment, are you? I was just letting off steam."

"It's _your_ dorm, why would I care about that?"

"… Well, I don't know. But you seem-"

"I'm fine."

Mello looked on as Near went ahead down the staircase without another word. Mello shrugged and chalked it up to hormones.

-

Two days later, Matsuda was in the main room of his dorm, sitting eagerly in front of the radio he had recently bought. Beforehand, he would have to go into Raito's room, not just because he wanted to hang out but because Matsuda didn't have one. But now that he had purchased a used one from the pawn shop down the street, he could sit there and take notes with his little notepad in private and waited for the now familiar introduction of…

"_This is Matt with the Irai noon-hour radio show!"_

Matsuda squealed excitedly and readied his pen.

"_I'm super excited right now because you guys decided to send in some postcards! It's been really boring, sitting up here listening to myself talk. I was starting to think I was boring or something, or maybe people didn't like gaming tips. Haha, as if! Okay, but before we get to those, I have a question for listeners. What household items can you use to get stains out of your toilet bowel?_

"_Nope, not a riddle, just an everyday-life thing. Anyway. Get back to me on that because I don't have money for those fancy cleaners."_

"Come on, Matt, get to the letters," Matsuda whined.

"_Okay, time for the letters!"_

"YAY!"

"_Ooh, got a couple here. This first one has kitty-cats on it! It reads: Dear Matt, you are very cool and I was just wondering why you wear those goggles. I've never seen your real eye-color but you shouldn't hide them, 'cause they're probably really pretty. Signed, Katy the Painter. _

"_Okay, well, first off, my eyes are green. Secondly, I wear the goggles because my eyes are pretty sensitive to sunlight and I don't wear sunglasses because I'd rather look like a uber-cool hero than a FBI agent. Thanks, Katy the Painter! Let's go to the next one… oh, chicken-scratch. Must be a boy. It reads: Hey, Matt, I need some help. My girlfriend isn't doing well in math and to get an A on her midterm, she plans on sleeping with her teacher. The professor seems all for this but I'm not liking the idea. What should I do? Signed, Good At Math._

"_Well, Good At Math, the teachers here are all perverts. Throw your girlfriend in the trunk of your car and go to Julliard because Irai is not the place for you guys. I mean, if you want, you could always take her place… though I'm not sure if the teacher would be okay with that. So hard to make everyone happy, you know? _

"_Here's another one. It reads: Dear, Matt! I've got a crush on my classmate and really want him to go out with me. Only there's this other guy who is after him too and he's a horrible, mean guy but he acts all angelic around the guy I like. I really want to punch him in the snoot. This guys outdoes me in everything - I get flowers for my crush, he gets BIGGER flowers for him. I cook him something and this guy buys him a huge, fancy lunch! I just don't know what to do. This guy's taller and better looking than me, I think… How can I get R - my crush to notice me? Love, Cookies n' Cream._

"… _Hmm. Well, Cookies n' Cream, kinda sounds like your screwed."_

Matsuda fell off the couch.

"_But! Never fear, Mattie's here. Sounds like this guy is super smooth, huh? Why don't you try to get your crush alone and sweet-talk him some? Candles are a nice thing and maybe if you show some skin, that might entice him. Get the mood just right and…"_

Matsuda was scribbling down like crazy. "Yeah, and, and…?"

"… _then that booty will be all yours!"_

"W-WHAT?" Matsuda turned beet-red, dropping his pen and pad. He covered his face with his hands and turned away from the radio shyly. "Oh, Matt it's not like _that_…"

But, as Matsuda kept his hands up to his face, the more he thought about what being with Raito would be like. He blinked from between his hands and began to smile, sending himself into a fit of giggles until he fell over and shouted to himself, "Oh, I just couldn't! That would be… oh my gosh!"

"_Thanks for your postcard, Cookies n' Cream, tell me how it pans out for ya! Send pics!"_

-

While Matt was on the air, both Near and Mello had the boys' apartment to themselves and would for at least another half an hour. At the moment, Mello was sitting next to Near on the bed, his arm around him and his lips planted on the boy's neck, working attentively on a love mark. Near squinted at the feeling and then struggled a little when Mello pushed him down to the bed and hovered over him, dragging his fingers down to the hem of Near's shirt.

Near turned away from it all and mumbled, "Mello…"

"Mm?"

"M-Mello, let's stop. I really don't feel into it right now."

There was a pause in Mello's movements and he finally lifted up from Near and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Then his blue eyes traveled down to Near's groin where his pants had grown tight and said, "Not into it, huh?"

Near flushed. "It's just my body…"

Mello groaned and retreated from him completely. "Come on, what's your problem? We haven't done anything in two days and you've been acting really antisocial."

"If you long for company so much, Mello, maybe you ought to wait until Matt gets back," Near huffed, sitting up and readjusting his clothes.

Mello blinked warily. "What's that mean?"

"Ask him." With that, Near went for the door and was gone, shutting it quietly behind himself. Mello growled, rolling his eyes.

_When I was that age, I was never so moody!_

-

**to be continued.**

-

A/N: _If you want to send Matt some postcards, go right ahead. I won't use all of them but I'll use the ones that pique my interest. Review, yeah?_


	9. Phenomenal

_A/N: __We're going back to basics now._

-

**Azure Paler than the Sky.**

**nine.**

Matt has always been a bit of a flower child. Raito took note of that the first time he met the boy and it's always been one of his defining features in the brunet's eyes. Though, really, it's not all that cute or helpful in a relationship when your partner is so laidback about the world in general. Honestly now, the country could be under attack with aliens whizzing overhead and people being beamed up to the mother ship and Matt would probably be like a tourist in Bangkok. And Raito can probably sympathize with Mello pretty damn well because they both have gotten to know Matt extensively.

For example, as much as Matt gets on Mello for his dirty habits like not wearing underwear, it's not like Matt is much better. When he gets a new game that sparks his interest and is particularly hard to beat, he will go however long it takes without a shower or bath. And sitting there in his underwear (which he apparently prides himself on), sweating Red Bulls through his pores and chain-smoking in between bites of Snickers and Twix, it's not a pleasant smell. And his socks are off, discarded on the floor by Near's and he feels great but there's just something unnerving about it to Raito.

But Matt says that Raito has faults too, and Raito agrees out of his duty as an ex-boyfriend but, really, he can't see any. Sure, maybe sometimes he's a big egotistical and maybe he would in fact flirt with a plant if it could talk and walk but, really, aren't those small things? Raito doesn't like to show his emotions when they aren't suave or cool or masking of what he really feels. He doesn't like showing how upset he is and maybe that's why Matt seemed a little offended at how well Raito took their breakup. Because there are unspoken feelings there, you know.

Raito just doesn't _want_ to let you know.

So he doesn't.

And it's reasons like that that he is so interested in Teru Mikami. Teru just seems to understand how things are with Raito. He knows that Raito is beautiful and needs attention and adoration in order to go on normally. Teru understands that - when they are laying around in Raito's apartment, trying to goad Matsuda into leaving - Raito's bare feet, tucked underneath him on the couch cushions, are just about the most perfect things in history.

Sometimes, Raito confides smugly, he thinks that Teru would even go so far as to _kiss_ those feet.

Yes, it has become painfully obvious to Raito Yagami that Teru Mikami is a firm believer in that all-too-often-forgotten-about religion of Raito Is God. Raito's sophisticated talk, his ever sensual swing of the hips as he walks, the perfect arch of his eyebrows.

These are things that Matt never really noticed. 'Nice ass,' was about as far as Matt got on romance. Then he would turn back to his game screen. Really, it was a bit too much, it wasn't what Raito _needed_. He was a modest guy, actually. He never told people that he was this wonderful and phenomenal… he just assumed they knew.

So Raito kept his thoughts to himself, mostly. Sure, there would be times every once in a while where some lava-like burst of pride would flare in his chest and he would let his attacker have what-for. But otherwise, he was content to know the limitations of others' intellect. Let them think he's just another person. If they don't understand the depth of his biting sarcasm, that's fine. If they don't appreciate the very subtle curve of his waist and other tender features, so be it. If they don't know that he _could _score higher on an IQ test than L if he _wanted to_, that was hunky-dory.

But here's the thing and it's key…

Raito was down-right pissed off when someone didn't take his work as a sculptor seriously.

Okay, maybe that only happened every once in a blue moon. And the people who didn't get his work may happen to be critics who, in their own right, are morons. But honestly, Raito's talents were limitless and the only limitations that there were had been provided by himself.

As with any artist.

And Teru saw this. He saw that Raito tried his hardest not to limit himself. To let himself be free of inhibitions, but, of course, it is not always the easiest thing, as Raito says over and over again.

Raito says to himself, It's hard. It's hard to let yourself be as free as you want to be and be unafraid of what others - people who call themselves critics - will say. It's hard to strip yourself as bare as the roses and tulips out on the Irai lawns and revel in your work as you were born to do. To act as God with huge blocks of marble and concrete and surfaces preened and primed by electric tools.

Raito has said to his students, Concentrate. Don't slack off or your work will slack off with you.

When, really, what bullshit _that_ is. Does it even make sense? How can he believe one thing and then tell those young minds something completely different? Isn't that shirking his duties as a teacher? Screwing with adolescent minds is what L takes pride in but at least, in the end, they learn something. Whether is it good or bad, they've learned. But Raito, all he's done is turned them around and told them to chase their tails. And he just sits back and…

"-watches… fuck, what have I done to them, L?"

L glanced over at him tiredly and sighed, the fork dipping out of his mouth. "They are just fine. I lie to my students all the time and just look at how well Near and Mello are flourishing." He sat the fork down on the empty plate and looked levelly at Raito who was barely keeping in his chair. "Don't you think our parents lied to us, Raito? Just to get us by?"

"My parents didn't lie to me…"

"Of course not," L mumbled, rubbing at his temples. Really, he wasn't used to so much red wine. "Because you were so angelic and sweet as a child, they couldn't bare it. And even as a sullied adult, you are still perfect."

Raito gasped as if enlightened. "That's what I've been trying to _tell_ everyone!"

"Back to my point. Our parents lied to us because they had to. And now look at us, we're not so bad off… we're-"

"_Poor_ and _wasted_, living in _dorm rooms_," Raito wailed, falling over the side of the kitchen chair. Luckily, L caught him, coming out of his crouching position and held the brunet up by the underarms and sat him back in the chair. He stood at his side, watching him for a moment with a worried and yet somewhat disdainful eye. Leave it to Raito, Irai's all-time biggest flirt, to venture to Mikami's lair and get drunk only to come crawling and stumbling to L's apartment when Matsuda stormed in like Rambo on a crusade.

From what L could gather, Mikami was leaning in for a kiss after he'd gotten his student drunk enough not to care and Matsuda, who must've been eavesdropping, broke the door down. L smiled in thought. Matsuda sure did know how to make an entrance. And of course, Mikami must've been furious and Matsuda must've been fighting like a cat in water, so this lead L to believe that Raito drunkenly wandered out of the room during the scuffle. Of course, he'd managed to bring some of Mikami's wine with him.

It wasn't a problem. Heaven knows how many nights, both drunk and sober, the two had spent together when they were in college. How many nights _were_ there that they spent in those student dorms, studying for exams, bouncing ideas off of each other and with gin or vodka between them? How many nights did Raito come, almost in tears, to L's door because what's-his-face dumped him again?

"My head hurts," Raito said, his head on the table.

"We're not poor," L said. "And if you are poor, it's because you spend your money on frivolous things."

"You spend yours on _candy_. You're not a responsible adult," Raito accused, squinting up at L. Squinting, maybe because the kitchenette's lights were too bright.

"… We've both had too much."

"You've had too much."

"I said we."

Raito climbed to his feet, stumbling over the legs of the chair and falling into L who caught him once again. He realized for maybe the umpteenth time in his life that this is the Raito no one sees. Like Raito had said earlier during his drunken spiel, Raito doesn't want to let it show.

"… how drunkenly clumsy you can be," L murmured and received a dirty glare for it. But Raito said nothing and walked away and into the living room area, heading back for the bedroom. L called, "Raito, where are you going?"

"I'm _Yaga_ - aw, fuck it, I'm going to bed."

"My bed?"

"I can't _hear_ you, L," Raito called back once he had made it into the room. L thought he could faintly hear some 'la la la la's as well but dismissed it.

-

"_It's Matt with the Irai noon-hour radio show! Hi-ho!"_

"Mm… Lawliet, stop… stop trying to sound like Matt…"

"You are hallucinating…"

"_I woke up just a while ago, actually. I slept so good because it's raining for the first time in forever. Ah, guess we should get used to the fact that it'll start becoming cold soon… I can't wait to roll around in the snow. Oh! I can bury Near and snow and we could have like a treasure hunt for him!"_

"It's… the radio," Raito said as he turned over in bed and looked at the one on L's bedside table. Matt's eager voice sounded throughout the room and underneath on the clock, it read 12:03 PM. Ratio gasped loudly and rocketed up in bed, the covers flailing about him. "Lawliet, it's past noon! How did we sleep in so late?"

"We were up for a while… stop shouting."

"I've _missed _my morning classes."

L sighed and then sat up next to Raito, looking at him with his hair all everywhere and a groggy sort of stare. "Yes, perhaps it is about time we got a start on the day."

"Oh _really_?"

"_And now it's time for postcards! This first one reads: __Hey Matt, I've got a couple of questions for you. What kind of shampoo does Mello use? Is it better to level by grinding, or just level normally on Final Fantasy X? What's your highest score on Tetris? What's the first thing that a guest would notice about your dorm room? Have you lost The Game recently? Ah, well, that should've killed about fifteen seconds on the radio. Love the show, man! Signed, Caramell Dansen Kaze. _

"_First off, Mel uses Cocoa Dreampuff. Don't tell him I told ya. Now, in order… grinding, 1976, the stains on my underwear, and JUST NOW, dammit! Thanks a lot… Agh, anyway, this next one reads: Hey, Mattie! Me and my friend both like the same person and it seems that she is likin us back. Sounds half okay right? No. If her parents ever found out that she was dating a girl, they would skin her alive. I can't help but feel really really jealous everytime this other friend talks about her. And I can't help but still like her. What can I do? Signed: Confused, Lonely, Hurting._

"_Well, Lonely, it's my expert opinion that you should organize a threesome behind her parents' back! I mean seriously, dude, don't let the 'rents stop true love! … Or lust. Whatever. Next postcard! Says: Dear Matt, 'K, this has been bugging me. If Mario went up against Boo in a fight to the death, and Boo had a machine gun while Mario only had a box of tampons, who would win? I mean, logically, you'd think Boo, but then there's the whole Main Character ALWAYS Beats Bad Guy law that all things fictional seem to follow. And I mean, didn't Luigi kick ass with a vacuum cleaner? Signed, C Master._

"… _Dude, that's fucking sick! I love it! Fuck yeah, Mario would kick metaphoric ass. Let me school you on technique, kiddo. Tampons are totally useful in battle and it's a shame that they aren't in normal gaming artillery. They can absorb things, just like Luigi's badass vacuum sucked them up! Also, Boo would be weighted down by the machinery unlike Mario, who would have light things to toss and could plug Boo up!_

"_Plug it up! … Am I the only one who read Carrie? Yeah? Anyway, here's another. Reads: To Matt, how would a teacher be best placed to seduce two of his students into a threesome? Signed, Lollilicious. _

"… _Dude."_

Raito frowned deeply at the man standing next to him as they were walking out of his apartment. "That's not funny, Lawliet, how could you write something like that?"

L waved away the comment. "It's nothing, I'm sure no one will notice."

"Right, because it was only broadcast all over the school."

"Mm."

-

_This isn't good_, Matsuda thought as he sat in his little chair in the waiting room. Dean Wammy's office was not a place that he often visited. As a matter of fact, he had never been in here before and the feeling was horrible. Mind-numbing silence as the only sound was Misa's typing on her computer across the room. She barely even looked at him, not now and not when he had entered about twenty minutes ago.

Wammy had called him to his office to "discuss something." Matsuda had a very good idea of what he wanted to discuss and just as he was readying to root himself to the seat, there was a ringing. Matsuda yipped and Misa picked up her desk phone.

"Yes, sir? … Oh, all right." She set down the receiver and peered over the top of the desk. "Mr. Matsuda, Dean Wammy is ready to see you. Please go in now."

Matsuda gulped loudly and then nodded. He lifted himself from his chair and walked toward the door as if on his way to the plank. He knocked, hoping not to receive an answer but someone said "come in" and he did, shutting the door behind him. When he lifted his head, he gasped loudly, red in the face at seeing Mikami standing next to Wammy's desk with the old man sitting in it. There was a lonely chair out in front of the desk, meant for him.

"Please, sit," said Wammy and nodded at Matsuda.

Mikami watched him through his glasses distastefully as he walked around the chair and finally sat down, focusing nervously on Wammy. From time to time, his eyes would flicker back up to Mikami and he would give something akin to a glare.

After the unbearable silence, Matsuda spoke up, "Y-You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes, actually… It seems that your professor, Mikami here, would like to lodge a complaint about you-"

"But sir-"

"Now, now, let me finish. Did something happen last night?" He looked up at both men.

Matsuda opened his mouth but Mikami spoke first, "Yes. Matsuda broke into my apartment in the middle of the night and scared the living daylights out of my guest and I. He then proceeded to bang his fists on my shoulder like a deranged child."

"Hey! Just a minute, that's not what happened at all!"

"All right," Wammy sighed, "Matsuda, what is your side?"

"Well…" Matsuda looked downward and shifted in his seat. "It's… it's true that I came into Professor Mikami's apartment… but I had good reason, really! Poor Raito was being accosted in there!"

Wammy blinked. "Raito?"

Mikami frowned. "Dean, I assure you-"

"Mikami's been trying to steal Raito away from me since he got on campus, Mr. Wammy," Matsuda pleaded like a little boy, "he doesn't want us to be friends! And he's been telling Raito all these weird things… I, Touta Matsuda, do not think Raito, students in general or animals are safe around that man!"

"Dean Wammy, this is madness!" Mikami shouted, finally losing his temper. He pointed at Matsuda violently. "He simply has a schoolyard crush on Raito Yagami and is upset because he favors more sophisticated company!"

"IT'S ALL A BUNCH OF HOOEY!" Matsuda wailed, pointing back.

"Gentlemen, _enough_," Wammy cleared his throat heavily. He looked up at the two of them with enough sternness to cease their senseless bickering. They both calmed a bit, Matsuda a bit embarrassed for his outbursts and Mikami not saying a thing. "Now," Wammy continued, "as for you, Matsuda, do not break into anyone's dorm again, especially a respected teacher. If you feel there is something wrong, alert another professor."

Mikami nodded in satisfaction.

"As for you, _Professor_, do not place students in your room after hours. Things like that will cause controversy. And also, do not interfere with Matsuda's schoolyard crush; he may pursue whom he wishes."

Matsuda smiled. "Yay! … Wait, it's not a crush!"

Mikami turned his head to the side and rolled his eyes.

"Thank you both for coming, you may leave now. Have a nice day." He waved them out as they left and Misa came into the room after them, shutting the door behind her.

She said, "Sir, do you have the twenty dollars?"

"Oh, yes, I do," he hummed, nodding and reaching into his back pocket. He leaned over the desk and gave the bill to her and she tucked it inside her pocket. "Well, that's everyone. How exciting to be placing bets! I hope I'll win a lot of money."

"Now now, don't broadcast that type of thing all over the school." Wammy coughed behind his hand. "Making wagers on an ex-professor's love life is not smiled upon."

"Yeah… but it sure is interesting, isn't it? Team Matsu all the way!"

"Indeed."

-

L stared groggily at his two students as they stood in front of him as the sun went down in the windows behind them. L thought blandly, _Where did the day go?_

"I knew it, L! You've got the hots for us! You perv, announcing it on Matt's show like that." Mello carefully hid his delight with a disgusted expression. He'd been bragging since L called them up to the studio for another night's work. Near had stood by Mello's side the entire time and blushed away from L whenever he looked at him.

L rolled his eyes. "Mello, that was a simple joke."

"Jokes show your true feelings."

"You've had too much chocolate."

"Whatever." Mello raised the chocolate bar, given to him by L, to his lips and snapped off a piece. "So, what's the deal? Have we reached a conclusion on Near yet?"

Near raised his head. "I never really agreed to model…"

"You agreed when you said you'd help me, Near."

"L, are you all right?"

"I'm tired."

"Yeah, what's the matter? Those bags of yours are even bigger than normal."

"Thank you, Mello."

"Just saying."

L cleared his throat. "Before I make a decision, I would like to experiment with Near's body more. It's different than others that I've worked with…" He paused and looked over at Near who stood still, his eyes just barely visible through his thick bangs. The lightest shade of pink covered his cheeks and L stared until Mello stepped into his line of view with his arms crossed over his chest.

"He's _not_ posing naked. Forget it."

After a pause, L smirked at the blond. "Isn't that his choice?"

-

**to be continued.**

-

A/N: _Keep sending in postcards, Matt appreciates variety. Review?_


	10. Badmouthing

_A/N: __Yo, everyone… agh, I'm so tired…_

-

**Azure Paler than the Sky.**

**ten.**

_We'll just see how it goes _is what L had said to quell Mello's rising temper on the subject of Near posing naked. Near seemed to be pouting not on the prospect of the whole thing but on not really having a choice in the matter - as if it were all to be decided between Mello and L. He stood there while they argued for a bit and then got tired of standing and decided to sit down at the table. No sooner had he sat that L stopped talking to Mello and turned his attention to Near, telling him to go to the middle of the room and stand there.

Near sighed but did as he was told. The next hour or so was spent with Near standing in place and occasionally turning around under L's instruction. He didn't much like looking like a ballerina and, for some odd reason, he thought, _I feel like a rotisserie chicken._

And even when he was turned to face the other way, he could see them in the mirror at the table. It seemed to Near that in the small course of time the three of them had been working together he had noticed that L had been teaching Mello about crushing minerals to use. Near heard L talking about how painting was, in a way, a lot like cooking. Everything needed to be fresh unless you were planning on creating something to strike fear and horror and make people's stomachs turn. Then you could use everyday, rotten things.

But for what he wanted to create, he wanted unadulterated beauty. Mello didn't seem to have any comment on this, emerged as he was in his job. But L looked at Near all the time, even if his hands were busy. More often than not, they would be working at night at odd hours thanks to L's insomnia most nights. So when they came to visit, Near would more than likely be in his pajamas which hung on him and clouded up his shape.

"Near," L called from the other side of the room. Near had been standing for almost an hour and thirty minutes then and was about to fall asleep in place.

He tilted his head back and blinked. "Yes, L?"

"Would you be so kind as to remove your shirt?"

Near flushed a little and whipped his head back around, fully aware that he and Mello could see his reaction just by looking in the mirrors. Mello, whose head had popped up at hearing this request, frowned at L. "Hey, hey. Do what you want to me but leave Near out of your fantasies."

"Mello," L said quite seriously, turning to the blond. "I'm simply asking for him to remove his shirt, nothing more. Don't you think he should get over his shyness, if he has any? It's only us after all, we're not exactly a crowd. Besides… as a famous sculptor once said, this is a very intimate situation."

Mello's eye twitched. "Don't quote Raito!"

"Ah, so you've heard of him."

"… You-"

Near made a small noise, cutting Mello off. The blond looked over but L had never really looked away and they both saw that Near had unbuttoned his shirt and was letting it slide down his shoulders. The cold air hit him and he shivered lightly, letting the cloth drop the rest of the way to the floor around his ankles. His bare back, pale and slender shone in the moonlight and Mello stared, a small, hungry grin resting on his features.

L's expression remained the same and he said gently, "Turn around."

Near sighed and did as he was told, his arms wrapping around himself uneasily. He looked up through his bangs and saw L's expectant face and let his hands drop to his sides. It was apparent then just how big Near's pajamas were on him, how the bottoms sagged on his hips, revealing milky white hipbones and the little curve of his waist. Near swallowed lightly at the silence and looked up, shocked, when L smiled and said, "Near, you're the perfect shape."

"L…"

"What the fuck?" Mello snorted at L, eyebrows furrowed.

"I would think that you'd agree with me, Mello."

Mello blinked, caught off guard. He saw the pleased look on L's face and recovered quickly, saying, "Well yeah, but you don't need to-"

"I like it."

Mello looked up at Near, his face hidden by his bangs. He was twirling a lock of hair furiously around on finger. "What?" Mello asked.

"I… I said I like it." He looked up. "I like it that L thinks that about me."

"W-Well, hell, Near! I think that too but he's just perving on you!"

"I am not," L interjected.

Near frowned slightly. "Are you sure you don't think Matt is the perfect shape?"

"I - what?"

"Matt," he repeated. "You didn't tell me about Matt and yet you got upset over my rabbit."

"… What're you even talking about?"

"Your first kiss. It was Matt, wasn't it? Mello, why didn't you say anything? And after you went on a tirade about how we should be honest with each other…"

Mello blinked and then thought back. He growled to himself, balling a fist. _Matt, you idiot! Just wait until I get home! _He turned back to Near, "Is this why you've been so pissy lately?"

"It's your own fault."

"Dude, that was fucking four years ago, I didn't even know you then!"

"You know me now and you didn't say anything. You sleep with him every night and-"

"Fucking hell," he groaned, standing up. He rolled his eyes. "You don't think we do anything, do you?"

"That's not what I said; I completely trust Matt not to do anything. He's the one that told me anyway-"

"Oh, okay, so you trust him but not me."

"T-That's not-"

Mello laughed a little, a forced sound, and slammed his chair into the table, startling L. Mello then headed for the door and slammed it shut, shaking the wall of mirrors right beside it. Near yipped at the sound of Mello stalking away, his boots heavy on the tile and L pushed the chair back out distractedly.

"Honestly, Mello," he sighed, casting a glance over towards Near who stood there, shaking a little, his arms wrapped self-consciously around himself once again. "… Near, are you all right?"

A pause then and Near nodded slightly, turning around. "I'm fine."

-

Matt was thoroughly enjoying himself at the moment. Really, nothing was better than kicking back when the entire school was asleep and playing the hell out of Luigi's Mansion. Well, maybe sex was better. But this came in close second in Matt's humble opinion. As he sucked up ghosts with his handy vacuum cleaner and leant back into the coffee table, he thought about telling this to the listeners of his radio show who were lonely and without vibrators.

Mentally, Matt had just congratulated himself on getting to the next floor and was currently beating a ghost down and riding it across the floor when the door to the dorm burst open. Matt fumbled for the pause button and looked over his shoulder, goggles askew.

"Uh… hey, Mel…?"

Mello was standing still, his blonde hair swishing across his face as he looked down. Matt tensed up visibly and crouched down, awaiting some horrible calamity. But none came. And instead of breaking into a frenzy like Mello usually would after throwing open the door like that, he stomped inside - more pouting than enraged - and sat heavily on the couch and looked down at Matt skeptically.

"… Something wron-"

"You idiot, you told _Near_," Mello snapped, his head falling back into the cushion.

Matt perked up, interested. "Told him what, dude?"

"That we, like, kissed and stuff…" Mello's head rolled to the side a little and he frowned, looking from Matt back to his hands twitching on his thighs. Matt made an 'oh' sound and slowly turned back around to his videogames, not wanting to get in the middle of that sort of thing. Mello continued, mostly to himself, "But, fuck, it was like four years ago. He said he's worried about us sleeping in the same bed."

"… Really?" Matt looked over his shoulder, grinning. "Oh, he's right to worry, because I _do_ molest you in your sleep, you know."

Mello threw a couch cushion over and it hit Matt on the head but he was laughing even as he pulled it off.

Mello rolled his eyes, smirking. "I know it's stupid but he was pretty upset. He's been upset for a while now and he just now told me. Just goes to show how much he trusts me…"

"Aw, come on, Mel, he trusts you."

"Could've fooled me."

Matt sighed and got up from the floor, making his way to the couch and sitting beside his friend. Mello eyed him warily as he lounged back and put his hands behind his head. "Well," he said, "I guess it's all right. Near's pretty reasonable, he'll come to his senses soon."

Mello coughed a laugh. "Reasonable! Yeah, okay. S'not reasonable anymore; he's turned into a right little bitch! I wish he'd go back to being sixteen! I don't need this shit."

"Mel…"

"What? Am I supposed to take shit for something I did four years ago? Fucking hell, I didn't even do anything, it was _you_ who made the move on _me_," Mello accused, huffing.

Matt raised an eyebrow. "Oh hell no, you're not blaming this on me. You totally wanted it - you'd been bitching for days about how ugly the scar made you look. So I couldn't take your whining anymore and kissed you to show you."

"… Show me what?"

"That you were still just as cute as you'd always been."

Mello looked over at him and Matt shrugged.

"Matt… call me cute again and I'll punch you."

"You say it 'cause you love me."

"Mm."

"So," Matt said cheerily, hopping off of the couch and heading towards the kitchen, "how come you're not pissed off and throwing shit?"

"I'm not a _kid_," Mello snorted.

"Oh yeah?"

"_Matt_."

There was some rummaging in the refrigerator heard and Matt laughed along with the sound of the fridge door closing. Matt was soon seen hovering over the back of the couch, waving a banana in front of Mello's face. Matt said, "Look what I got, Mel! I went down to the cafeteria today and took things off people's plates."

"Matt, we have money for groceries, you don't have to resort to petty theft - stop waving that shit, I'm not a monkey! Where's my fucking chocolate?" He growled, irritated, and took a swing at the fruit.

Matt pulled it out of his reach and began to unpeel it. "What's the matter with you, huh? I'm not a thief. People gave stuff to me. I'm a celebrity!"

"That so?"

"It is. I'm like Oprah. I'm going to start having guest stars."

"… Like who?"

"Dunno. Wanna volunteer?" Matt grinned.

"S'yeah, okay."

"Really?"

"No."

-

"_It's Matt with the Irai noon-hour radio show! God, this weather's really pumping me up! I was on WOW earlier and went on a raid with my group, it was fucking badass. I'm still at level 69. I think I'm unconsciously holding myself back from leveling up because that is such an awesome number._

"_Yeah, so, relationship problems. Friends arguing over stupid shit, this is way too high school for me. See, this is why I'm not in a relationship. Who needs that shit, huh? I ask you. My hand doesn't talk back, we're the picture of happiness. Haha, Mel walked in on me last weekend. Doesn't even phase him anymore._

"… _Anyway, let's get to those post cards. This first one reads: Dear Matt, I've been dating this guy all my life but we're no engaged yet! How do I get him to pop the question? Signed, Jessica Green. Well, Jess, I think you should force his hand a little. Talk a lot about marriage. If he doesn't pop the question then, you could always do it. No shame in that. Really. Serious!_

"_Next! Reads: __Dear Matt, I'm a female student who has recently moved to this school, and I was just wondering how one would turn a gay male straight. Because all the really hot guys in this school are obviously queer and taken and they're the only interesting ones around! Like, I know this really sweet guy... we'll call him Close; and he's adorable and talented and sexy and has that cute lil' bunny rabbit- what do you think would attract him? Signed, Frustrated Female. _

"_Haha, well, Female, I think "Close" is about as gay as they come. But no worries, maybe if you're after a hug or a bit of a snuggle, you can tempt him with a stuffed something or other._

"_All right, here's another: Dear Matt, I have read Carrie! In fact almost all of Stephen King's books! What's your favorite one? And are you still feeling down about Raito? Don't worry you deserve better! Signed, Roxas. Aw, thanks, kid. I'm over him. As I stated earlier, me and my hand are getting along just fine. Uh… my favorite King book would probably be Misery. Who doesn't love a good massacre every now and again, huh?_

"_Oh, before I forget! I'll be having some guests on the show in the future so if you want to be on the show, come talk to me, okay? Of course, that means I'll have to actually wear clothes while I do this._

"… _Ah, screw it. We're all family, right?"_

-

"Class dismissed," said Mikami, looking at his students the next day. Over the course of the two-hour class, Mikami had finally saw fit to let them work individually on their first project. He spent more than half of the class with Raito, talking him through the previous class he missed, even though when Raito wasn't in class the other day, Mikami was too depressed and distracted to teach anything.

Matsuda's station was on the other side of the room and while everyone else was working with electric tools, Mikami had given Matsuda a chisel and hammer, deeming him not ready to use electricity. Matsuda probably would have had less of a problem had Mikami not spent the session with Raito, his hand on his shoulder, cuddling up to him. Even other students occasionally looked over their shoulder at Raito and Mikami and gave skeptical glances.

As everyone walked out of the room, Matsuda overheard Mikami saying, "So, I'll meet you there later, all right?"

Raito nodded. "Okay. See you then, Teru." With that, he walked out.

Matsuda sighed. He couldn't even get Raito to say Matsu. Just what could he do now? Sure, he'd gotten out of trouble with Dean Wammy but how could he ever hope to change Raito's mind about Mikami? Matt's advice didn't really help at all and he felt himself drifting further and further away from his goal of finally going out with the beautiful and talented Raito… just what could he do now?

With that thought in mind, he gathered up his books and stood up. Just as he walked for the door, Mikami who stood by his desk, called to him, "Oh, Matsuda, could you stay behind for a bit?"

Matsuda looked up warily. "What for?" he asked, hugging his books to his chest.

"I trust you heard about the janitor getting fired, right?"

"… Oh. Yeah, I did."

"Well, they still haven't hired another one. That being the case, all there wood shavings and pieces of marble need to be cleaned before my next session. Be quick about it, yes?"

"…" Matsuda stared.

"Don't look at me that way. Lock up when you're finished." With that, Mikami set a ring of keys down on the desk and then went for the door, closing it behind himself.

Matsuda stood there for a moment, looking around him at the mountains of garbage surrounding him. There was a broom in the back but it was splintered and had only a few pieces of straw left on it. Matsuda's face suddenly became thunderous and he threw his books down.

_MEANIE!_

-

"It's been a whole day, L."

"I'm very aware but what would you like me to do?"

"Ugh… _something_," Matt sighed, leaning back into the couch. He had invited L over just after Mello left for an evening class. Near was holed up in his room across the hall and hadn't spoken to anyone save L in the past day. Either way, Mello was much too stubborn to go over there and apologize and Matt wasn't allowed in, so he had to call someone. L just happened to be passing by and Matt lured him into their apartment with the promise of cake.

Thus far, L was not given cake and made to hear about the problems of his students.

"Why doesn't Mello just go over there?" he asked.

Matt looked at him pointedly.

L sighed. "I can't do anything."

"Come on, L, don't you care?"

"Of course I care. I need both of them to help me out and their lover's spat is getting in the way of my progress. I have a schedule to keep."

"… No you don't!"

L looked over towards the window, shaking his bangs out of his eyes. "I suppose this is what I get for utilizing teenagers," he mumbled.

Matt sighed. "Maybe. I just feel bad because, you know, I feel like this is my fault…"

"Matt, it's-"

The door burst open and then slammed shut, both men looking up in alarm, expecting Mello.

"MATT!" cried Matsuda, running to the couch and the young redhead, tears streaming from his face and his cheeks bright red. He jumped and just barely missed L, landing on Matt and knocking the two of them to the armrest on the couch. Matt yelped out of surprise and a bit of pain, the armrest digging into his back.

"M-Matsuda…" Matt winced and opened one eye to look at the man on top of him. "What're you doing…?"

"Oh, Matt, Matt, Matt," Matsuda cried, rubbing his face into Matt's striped shirt and crying loudly. L, who was recoiling to the bed so as not to be kicked again, looked over curiously with his thumb hanging from his mouth. It was quiet for a bit with only Matsuda's crying and then, finally, he lifted his face and looked at Matt. "Matt, please… you've got to h-help me…"

"Sure, Matsuda, whatever you need… j-just… get off me, dude…"

"Oh! Okay," he sniffed, scrambling up and sitting across the couch. He looked over his shoulder at L. "I'm sorry if I was interrupting…"

"It's fine, if you need a moment alone, I can go to the cafeteria," said L.

"No, no," Matsuda said, "don't leave."

"Okay." L nodded and got up, heading to the kitchenette. When he was out of view, Matt looked back to Matsuda and shrugged, tugging his shirt back into place.

"So, what's up, dude? S'not everyday you come flying in here."

"It's…" Matsuda looked down, blushing. "It's Raito…"

"What? What's the matter?"

"I don't know what to do about him! I don't know how to get him to… like me… S-So I was wondering… I was thinking maybe you could tell me what to do… since you've been so close to him." Matsuda watched as L came back into the living room, armed with a slice of cake on a paper plate. He took his seat on the edge of the bed and began to munch. Matsuda continued, "If you don't mind…"

Matt blinked. "Oh no, man… it's cool. Um. Okay, well, Raito's favorite color is dark blue. He likes mirrors. With Raito, it's really important to tell the truth."

"A truth he agrees with," L interjected.

Matt nodded. "Right."

Matsuda looked over towards L. "Oh, L… that's right, you and Raito are like best friends, huh?"

L quirked an eyebrow. "I… suppose."

Matt nodded. "Yeah, ask him. He's known Raito way longer than I have."

"Mm, thank you for shirking your duties onto me, Matt."

"Welcome."

"L, please, is there anything you can tell me? If I don't hurry, Raito will be deflowered by Mikami!" Matsuda begged, giving L puppy-dog eyes.

There was a moment of silence, after which Matt broke out into a fit of laughter. L turned his head to the side and grinned but Matsuda was left completely clueless, blinking about the both of them.

"L…? Matt? What's so funny?"

"Y-You, dude," Matt laughed, patting Matsuda on the head. He smiled and his laughter died down until he was able to say, "Deflowered. Raito's not exactly a virgin."

Matsuda's eyes rounded.

"Not to tarnish him in your eyes or anything," he giggled. "Just… I don't know how many people there were before I got there so…"

Matsuda blushed and whipped his head around to L. "D-Did you know about this, L?"

L nodded, putting another forkful into his mouth. "Of course. There was probably one or two before even I got there."

Matt laughed. "Yeah, I mean - huh?"

"Hm?" L looked up, a bit of frosting on his lips. "You didn't think I was a virgin, did you?"

"Well I… uh… um… shit…" Matt slowly reached for his goggle strap and scratched underneath it. "I…"

L shrugged. "College years were very productive for the both of us."

-

**to be continued.**

-

A/N: _Thanks for reading! Please continue to send post cards!_


	11. Strikes

A/N: _It's probably illegal to have THIS much fun with a chapter. I did it anyway. XP This chapter's for you, dear Samawama._

-

**Azure Paler than the Sky.**

**eleven.**

A day later and that's when the chilly air finally began to settle down over the Irai campus. Matt hadn't noticed it too much yet but when he went for a walk on the grounds, he was starting to think about taking his other jackets down again from the top of the hallway closet. The tan, furry vest just wasn't going to be enough soon and Matt had spent enough winters in Japan to know just how cold it could be.

But just then as he walked through the back lawns, the leaves crunching under his boots, it wasn't so bad. The wind kicked up the foliage around him and tussled his hair, turning his ears a light shade of pink. He got tired of getting his hair tossed in his face for a bit and went to lean on a nearby tree.

Looking out on the school like that, he had almost forgotten how huge it was. Usually he stayed in a small portion of it and lately had been traveling to the small studio they had set for him but that was about it. Midterms would be coming up soon and Matt guessed he should be studying or at least working on his project. He had his camera hanging around his neck but was trying to do what Mr. Gerri had told him and focus on inside photos.

He sighed and put his hand on the camera. Usually he'd be inside hanging around with someone but Mello was at a class and Near was still behaving as a hermit. Matt just didn't understand it, those two were supposedly L's responsibility and he didn't seem to want to help. Especially since they were working with him on a project and by Mello not cooperating, wasn't he lessening his changes of becoming L's true apprentice?

Near would come out of his room when L called him at night. He would simply make sure no one was around and if someone was around that he didn't feel like speaking to, he would throw a blanket over his head and travel down the halls that way. Coincidentally, since it was so close to Halloween, a few of the Seniors confused him with a Freshman in a poorly-made ghost costume and took pity on him by giving him candy. Matt had witnessed this all the other night while he followed Near around. Near may very well have been seventeen but he was a _tiny_ seventeen so Matt felt it was his personal responsibility to look after him.

And when Matt tried to talk to Mello about it, he either got extremely defensive or shrugged off the entire thing like it wasn't a big deal.

Then, of course, he could've been hanging around with Raito but he was probably busy being accosted. And Matsuda was probably busy chasing after him. Matt decided just then that him being the only carefree one just wasn't fair. It was their college years after all, the time they would look back on when they were all decrepit and using bedpans. _So_, he thought, lifting himself from the tree bark, _I'll help them out._

Matt started off towards the cafeteria and headed towards the dorms from there.

-

It's a unknown fact but… Near is not good at darts.

As one of his Christmas presents last year, he received from Hal a set of little darts with rubber ends. Near suspected that Gevanni had a lot to do with the rubber ends, probably advising Hal that they didn't want him poking out his eye or sticking one up his nose. Which was ridiculous since he hadn't done that since he was eleven or twelve. But that was beside the point. The point was that even after a year of playing with those things, he hadn't been able to hit a single thing.

And there he sat, in the middle of his room, throwing the darts at the beautiful painting that Mello had given him for his birthday. Just about every one didn't even come close, and the ones that did hit juts slid down, not sticking. Near wondered if he had to lick the tips and thought that would be too crude. The room was quiet and the windows were all close, the curtains as well.

Sometimes, he heard someone pass by in the hallway and he always stopped and perked up for a moment, thinking that maybe… just maybe, it might be Mello. But, of course, it never was. He felt stupid for even hoping for the blond to come over, to apologize or see how he was doing. Mello was far too stubborn for anything like that, Near knew that all too well. Of course, it would have to be up to _Near_ if anything was to be done about their separation and spat but Near was sick and tired of taking on all the responsibility of their relationship.

If Mello was mad, Near would calm him down (of course, if he was really mad, Near would need Matt's physical assistance, lest he go flying.) If Mello was feeling restless, Near was there, ready and waiting. If Mello was depressed, Near had a chocolate bar in his pocket. So why…

Why did he have to be the "bigger man" and cater to him now?

He through another dart and hit bounced off of the side. Near sighed loudly and looked around. Maybe it was too dark to see properly. Just as that thought ran through his mind, there was a sound out in the hallway. Against his better judgment, Near perked up and looked back at it. Before he could decide whoever was out there wasn't for him, there was a loud knock at his door. More like a kick. Near groaned inwardly. Matt.

"Matt, please go away," he said, turning back to the painting.

"Near, let me in there!" Another swift kick to the bottom of the door and Near frowned. Matt continued, "I'll knock the door down. Don't think I won't. Please, Near?" Another kick. "I just want to talk."

Near tried to ignore him but the kicking was too much. He could just see in his mind's eye how his door was splintering. It was getting cold, he couldn't afford to have a draft in his room at this time of year.

"O-Okay, Matt, all right. Just please stop." Near sighed and got up from the floor, sighing after having sat there for so long. He smoothed out his t-shirt and then walked over to the door, unlocking it and opening it a few inches, enough to look up at Matt disdainfully.

Matt looked down at him and chuckled at the feeble frown he was receiving. He pushed past the door and into the room, hearing Near sigh and the door click shut behind him. Matt looked around the room for a moment and then blinked, lifting his goggles from his eyes and placing them on his forehead. He blinked at how the curtains were all closed, the room shrouded in darkness. And when Near walked around him to go back to his sitting position, he was wearing a black 'Domo' shirt Matt had donated to his Clothing Fund and dirty jeans. Upon closer inspection, Matt also noticed there were slight bags under his eyes from not sleeping, probably.

"… Dude," he said. "You've gone emo."

Near looked back at him, raising an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"And what's up with the new look? You look like L Version 2.0."

Near blinked. "I simply put on the first things I saw."

"I meant the dark circles under your eyes," Matt said and pointed.

"… Oh," Near mumbled and lifted a hand, rubbing underneath one eye. To Matt's shock and surprise, the blackness came off and rubbed on Near's hand in a big smear. Near looked up at him and held out his hand. "It's makeup."

Matt stared. _Oh my god, I'm too late! He's too far gone!_

"From the sessions with L. We were experimenting with looks for me," Near explained and Matt calmed down a little but not much. Near turned back to walk around the couch but before he even took a step, he felt Matt's hands on him and was then hoisted into the air, carried bridal style to the couch.

"M-Matt! What're you-"

"Hush up, kiddo," Matt said, sitting down with Near in his lap. Near yipped a bit and looked around at his new position. He blushed when Matt was looking at him with one eyebrow raised and a grin tugging at his lips. "So," he said, "why aren't you talking to Mel, huh? You gonna stay in this room until you drop dead?"

"Maybe," he huffed. "Matt, I want to be on the ground."

Matt grabbed him before he could dismount. He laughed at Near's slight pout. "I'm not gonna let you wiggle away so easily. You didn't answer my first question."

"You know why, Matt," Near sighed, looking away.

"Near, you know that happened like four years ago. It was like one kiss, you know. Okay, maybe two."

Near narrowed his eyes.

"What? Don't you want me to be honest?"

"… Yes." He paused. "But Mello wasn't honest."

"Yeah, okay, 'cause he didn't want you to stop talking to him. And look what happened," Matt said, shrugging. He rolled his eyes when Near looked away and grabbed the boy by the chin, tilting his head up. "Hey, you. Listen, it was a kiss. Don't believe me, huh? C'mere, then."

Near blinked. "Um, Matt-"

Matt leaned over and pushed Near down onto the couch, pinning his hands up above his head when he tried to wiggle away. He placed his body in-between Near's spread legs and looked down at his bamboozled expression, smirking.

"M-Matt, I, um…"

"Hm?" Matt lowered his lips to Near's cheek and just barely grazed him there, dragging one of his hands down to the boy's face and cupped his other cheek. Near's face was bright pink, his eyes wide as he struggled a bit, trying to get his hands out of Matt's grasp. He let out a shuddering gasp as Matt's hand moved lower to his collar bone and ran his fingernail over it. "Near, you know you miss Mello," Matt whispered wetly into his ear, lingering there and laughing lightly when Near whimpered at the heavy sound.

He turned away from Matt's voice and slammed his eyes shut. "Matt, if you're trying t-to make a point… um, just know that I… uhh…"

Matt held Near's wrists tighter and ground his hips down onto Near's, forcing a surprised yelp out of him. He grinned when he could feel Near responding to him and the light buck of his hips upward. Matt leaned his face into the crook of Near's neck and gave a sharp twist of his hips, rubbing once again into Near and he unknowingly spread his legs wider.

"A-All right, Matt, I-I get it! Just…" Near sighed, arching his back just as Matt raised up off of him. Near blinked, suddenly feeling free from constraint, and looked up to see Matt sitting back on his heels, smiling cheerfully at him.

"So, you get my point?" he asked, lowering his goggles.

Near tenderly sat up, pulling himself to the other side of couch to lean against the armrest. He was blushing slightly and looking towards the closed windows in thought. Then, it seemed something clicked in his eyes and he delicately crossed his legs, his blush intensifying. Matt let out a boisterous laugh and tried to turn it into a cough when Near looked at him.

"I, um, I get it…" Near said softly, lowering his eyes. "Okay, so…" he sighed. "Maybe I'll go talk to him. If he even wants me to."

"Of course he wants you to!" Matt smiled and looked over Near's head at the digital clock on his nightstand. "He should be back in the dorm by now. Wanna go over? I'll hold your hand."

Near looked worried. "He probably won't want to see me."

"Near, trust me. He's _just _as lonely as you are."

Near flushed and turned away. "Matt."

"It's true! Come on, would I lie?"

"That's not really the point…" Near grabbed a hold of a lock of his hair and tugged on it nervously. He got up from the couch and walked around, towards the door. He gave Matt a small pleading look but Matt only smiled at him and Near took in a breath, opening the door. Matt was faintly reminded of a hermit who hadn't emerged to the world for over a decade as Near seemed to tiptoe out into the hall.

Naturally, such a sort distance was crossed in a matter of seconds and when Near was standing at the door, he found it was cracked open. The light was on and he could hear voices but, just in case, he went to knock. Just before his fist hit the door, he heard…

"What don't you just go over there?"

Near blinked. Was that Raito's voice? He slowly lowered his hand and peered into the crack of the door, spying Raito laying down on the bed, a plastic cup in his hand. He was red in the face a little, telling Near that he had probably had too much to drink. He was smiling dazedly at someone over on the couch and Near could see blond hair and black boots just inside his field of vision. In Mello's hand was a whole bottle and Near blinked.

"Dude, if he thinks I'm gonna cater to him like that… fuck that… S'like… if he wants to be a bitch about one kiss, fuck if I care." Mello took another swig. "I mean… s'not like I don't miss 'em…"

"It's _boring_ not having somebody…"

"Yeah." There was a pause and then Mello broke out into a fit of laughter. "I-I remember - it's so cute - like, what he does… like, when he comes, his toes curl…"

Raito started laughing, too, much to Near's horror. "How precious."

Near snorted, his face bright red. _Precious indeed! Mello, I cannot believe you! _Near turned on his heel and made a mad shuffle down the hallway. He was going away just as Matt came out of his dorm room with a bag of chips in his hands, stuffing his face. He blinked at Near's retreating form.

"Wha - Near! Near, where're you going?"

Near looked over his shoulder for a split second and then continued on his way. "I can't go in there," he called.

Matt blinked, confused, and shoved another handful of Doritos in his mouth. He squinted at the door of his apartment curiously and walked that way, opening the door to the scene of Mello and Raito drunk beyond all reason with wine bottles laying around the apartment. Mello's eyes were rather bloodshot as he looked up to find Matt in the doorway.

"Aw, man, you got Doritos," Mello exclaimed happily. "C'mere, give me some."

"Hello, Maaaatt," Raito droned, looking at Matt upside down.

Matt's lips parted in confusion. "What is going on in here? Mel, I thought you just got back from class?"

"Nah, I didn't go. I saw Raito in the hallway and he had some of Mikami's stuff so, you know, _here we are_."

"Well," Matt said, chewing, "Near was just outside the door and then he went running away so what just happened? You two weren't doing anything, were you?"

Mello looked up sharply. "Near was outside the door?"

Raito snorted. "Honestly, Maaaaatt, how low do you think I'd sink…?"

"Hey!" Mello snapped at him and then turned back to Matt, his eyebrows furrowed a little. "Uh, Matt, how long was he here?"

"Hell if I know. What happened?"

"I… uh… hmm, nothin."

"Mel, what the fuck did you do?"

"Nothin, all right, just shut up," Mello groaned and leaned back onto the couch, collapsing. Some of the wine from the bottle in his hand spilled and he looked up at the ceiling, squinting. _Jesus fucking Christ…_

-

"_It's Matt with the Irai noon-hour radio show! Howdy! Today's an awesome day and I have a surprise for everyone; I'd like to introduce our first ever special guest! Welcome, Professor L Lawliet! Woohoo, yay, confetti!"_

"… _Thank you, Matt. I would like to make it clear that I am here specifically because you couldn't get anyone else on such short notice."_

"_L's being a bastard right now but that's okay! For those of you who don't know, L is one of the most qualified professors at Irai, popular for his contemporary paintings all over the world. He's won the Irai fundraiser two years in a row in his category. He also likes cake, long nights of no sleep and making love on washing machines."_

"_Did you hack my Live Journal again?"_

"_Dude, I've got a subscription to that baby. Now, let's get on with the postcards, huh? L's gonna help me out with responding. Ready?"_

"_I suppose."_

"_The first one reads: Dear Matt, everyone on campus knows how close you and Mello are. So, I was wondering, have you two ever been more than just friends? Or were you lonely all your lives? Oh, and I was wondering, is there really a threesome between you and Mello and Near? I'm curious. On a side note, what is your favorite game and what brand of cigarettes do you smoke? Signed, Curious Creeper from Hawaii."_

"… _Hawaii?"_

"_S'what it says. Anyway, uh, me and Mel… well, I mean, we had sort of a thing a long time ago…"_

"_As I remember it, Matt, you two flirted around quite a lot in your Freshman year as well."_

"_L!"_

"_What? I was under the impression I was supposed to be helping."_

"_That's not helping… Uh, yeah, so. There's no threesome between us. We're just friends. And now they're fighting even more so… I dunno, this whole thing is giving me gray hairs. Though, now that I think about it… a threesome is on my Things To Do Before I Die List… what about you, L? Any threesome action in your future?"_

"_A threesome is hard work to maintain. I would not advise getting into one unless you can handle the mental and physical pressure."_

"_Haha! Listen to you, dispensing advice like you've done it before!"_

"…"

"… _uh, L?"_

"_What?"_

"_You… did you-"_

"_I'll read the next postcard. Dear Matt, what videogame character do you fantasize about when you're… you know, getting friendly with your hand? Signed, LinksLover. … These people are demented."_

"_Hmmmm. I dunno, should I tell?"_

"_You've told everything else."_

"_True. Okay, I switch back and forth between Marth and Roy. Hot, hot stuff."_

"_Honestly, Matt. This is why everyone else has problems and you don't."_

"_What's wrong with being carefree?"_

"_Carefree and sex-addicted air-head are two different things."_

"_That's what you say. Oh, speaking of problems. Listen, everyone, I'd like to make a shout out to my good friend, Matsuda from the sculpture department. He's going through a tough time now with his love life, so here's hoping that Raito will give up that ass soon! You can do it, Matsuda!"_

"…"

"_Come on, L, cheer!"_

"_Sis boom bah."_

-

Matsuda refused to come out of his room for a full twenty-four hours.

-

"Near, are you all right?"

"I told you, I'm fine."

L nodded and turned back to his easel. He'd finally set it up after all this time of staring at Near and working with poses, those eyes running up and down his body. Sometimes his shirt was on, other times it was cast to the floor. For the past few days, without Mello there, Near had been quiet and listless. He thought that if he kept quiet, he could refrain from telling L just what's been going on. But L knew. And Near knew that he did.

When Near had walked into the room that day, he was surprised to see the easel set up and the windows thrown open. It was colder in the room than normal and Near had hugged his shirt to him, shivering a bit. L directed him to the window sill and told him to sit on it. Near looked at him worriedly - they were on the third floor after all, what if he fell backwards?

But L had assured him that he wouldn't, so without further complaint, Near hoisted himself upon the sill and sat with his back to the window. L came over and placed his hands all over him, spreading his legs a little bit and tilting his shoulders until Near had a come hither look about him. L retreated from him to get a good look and almost chuckled at how confused and worried Near's expression was. His shoulders were already beginning to sag.

"No, no," he said, placing his hand on Near's back, straightening it. "You're wrong, you have to do this like you mean it."

"… Mean it? What-"

"Sit like you know you're desired. Lick your lips."

Near blushed madly and looked down just as L's hand caught his chin and forced him to look up again. Near averted his eyes. "L, I… I don't know…"

"Yes, you do. You have a lover, just look at me like you do to him."

"… I don't look at Mello that way."

L raised an eyebrow. "Well, you're going to look at me that way."

"L, don't-"

"Just-"

"I-"

"Ugh," L groaned and turned around, scratching his head furiously.

Near sighed. "Maybe you should get Mello. He'd know exactly what you want, he'd be able to do it easily."

"I'm completely aware."

"Then why don't you?"

"Because I want you to be able to do it," he said, looking over his shoulder. Near blinked at his gaze and L added, "I want it to be you."

-

**to be continued. **

-

A/N: _Keep the post cards coming. You can also add questions for the guest stars. Review, yeah?_


	12. Flag

_A/N: __See, here's the thing. I've been reading a lot of badfic lately and I am under the impression that it has tainted me. I was afraid to write this chapter. DX Oh, whatever shall I do?_

-

**Azure Paler than the Sky.**

**twelve. **

A week later, two days before L's birthday, Matsuda was on his knees in Matt and Mello's apartment. With Matt's hands clasped firmly in his, Matsuda looked up into the teen's bright green eyes and cried, "Please, Matt, you just _gotta_ do it!"

"Listen, Matsuda…" Matt sighed, glancing over Matsuda's head at Mello who sat over on the bed, arms folded and legs crossed. The blond looked away, shrugging, apparently not caring one way or the other. Matt looked back down. "I dunno, man, that's kinda a big favor and I don't want anything to happen."

"I'll be careful! I'll be careful as if I were holding a dandelion, okay?" Matsuda's eyes grew bigger.

There was a pause between the two where their eyes locked for close to three minutes. Finally, Matt leant back into the couch cushions and nodded as if he had been defeated. Matsuda stood up, releasing Matt's hands and danced around the room, annoying Mello as he continued to angst in the corner. Matt watched him out of the corner of his eye, a small smile tugging at his lips. Something that only a few people knew about Matt is that he cannot stand to disappoint the mentally retarded. In essence, Matsuda was like his kryptonite.

When Matt looked up again, he noticed that Matsuda had flipped and flopped over to the door, his hand on the knob. As he threw the door open, he turned around with a large smile to Matt and shouted, "I'll take good care of it, Matt, all right? You can count on me!"

Matt nodded. "Sure thing, buddy."

Matsuda paused and looked back at Matt, his expression blank. "M-Matt…?"

"Yeah?"

"Um… you just…" He looked down briefly and then back over towards the couch. "Did you… you really mean that we're buddies? I mean, like, you know… friends?"

Matt blinked at him, lifting his goggles. "Uh. Yeah, man. S'that cool?"

Matt shook his head and laughed. "It's wonderful! I'm so happy! I'll see you later, all right? Bye!"

With that, the door closed.

Matt tilted his head at the door and smirked a bit, tugging at his goggle strap. After a moment, he caught Mello's glance out of the corner of his eye and looked over where Mello was frowning at him.

"What's wrong, Mel?"

"You know you let a fool run off with your car, right?"

"…"

-

All week long, Matsuda had been recovering from his public-announcement embarrassment on Matt's noon-hour radio show. He hadn't come out of his room all Saturday and skipped every class, too horrified that he might see Raito and that the brunet might've been tuned in that day. And what were the odds that he hadn't heard? It was his ex - who was still his dear friend - doing a broadcast. And even on the off-chance he had been doing something else, the giant whirlpool that was student gossip would eventually suck him in.

But Matsuda couldn't stay in his room forever. He had to go to class sometime or else fail everything. And, still, he wanted to see Raito. He worried over just what kind of horrible things Mikami would try to pull in Matsuda's absence. Maybe Raito wasn't a virgin. It was a bit of a shock but that didn't lessen Raito's value in Matsuda's eyes at all. To Matsuda, Raito was still that perfect professor who was always so kind and understanding with him.

It's not like it was too surprising anyway. A beautiful man like that in his mid-twenties who had spent his college years at a place like Irai? He was bound to attract tons of attention and, naturally, he was bound to have a perfectly healthy sex drive…

But Matsuda couldn't think any further than that or he'd be a bit dysfunctional for a while; clamming up and turning red, perhaps giggling and staring off into space for a while as the world spun around him.

On Sunday when he was able to pry himself from the safety of his dorm room, he could already tell it was going to be a crappy week. As he walked down the halls in the sculpture building, people looked at him from over their shoulders and tee-heed at him, causing him to turn away in shame. But it was puzzling to some degree - usually no one paid him any mind whatsoever, but as soon as he's mentioned on Matt's radio show like that, everyone seems to know _just _who to jeer at.

It was around ten that morning when he was down the hall from Mikami's class. He was sure Raito was in there already and as he lingered a ways away, deciding if he should skip one more day or not, a couple walked past him and the young man's elbow knocked right into Matsuda's arm. His books went scattering to the floor and Matsuda dipped down after them.

"Hey, watch were you're going, idiot. Hey, you look familiar... do I know you?" the young man asked, looking down as Matsuda gathered his books.

Matsuda heard him but barely and glanced at him. "Oh, uh… no, I don't think so…" He straightened up once everything was collected and smiled at the man. "Sorry about all that. I'm so clumsy, plus, I think I have pretty big elbows-"

The blond girl looked over at him, frowning. "What's the holdup?"

"Oh, hey, I know him," he exclaimed, ignoring his girlfriend. "Yeah, you're that guy from Matt's show. That queer that's crushing on Raito."

Matsuda gasped lightly and blushed. "I-I don't like him! I… we're friends!"

"Don't like him? Then why are you blushing?" He smirked a little and tore his arm away from his pouting girlfriend's grasp. He backed Matsuda into the wall and said, "_I_ heard that you like him. That you want to _screw_ him."

Matsuda turned his head away. "I… no, that's not true. I would never want to do that to-"

"Yeah, sure. I bet you're just saying that. I bet you only _act_ like a clueless idiot, too. It really pisses me off!"

"Clueless idiot?" he muttered, eyes watering.

"Yeah, that's what I said. Clueless idiot. Unless you're mentally challenged or something."

"Randy, that's enough!" called the girl behind him, tugging on his shirt sleeve.

"Yes, that is enough."

Matsuda blinked when a deeper voice intervened and as he looked up, he recognized the long black hair and the glare of the glasses. Matsuda blushed when Mikami frowned at the young man and sent him on his way down the hall, admonishing him for harassing a weaker student, which Matsuda didn't take much note of. He blinked when Mikami turned around towards him and pointed down the hallway one eyebrow raised.

"Well? You're already late, Matsuda."

He blinked and nodded, hugging his books to his chest as he walked down the hallway. He avoided passing students' glances and kept his eyes on the ground thoughtfully. _Professor Mikami… he saved me… And here I thought he would love to see me in that position… Maybe I was wrong about him. And if I was wrong about him, then… could Raito really be okay… with him?_

When Matsuda looked up again, he was in the classroom and found Raito sitting in his normal seat. The brunet looked over lazily, his chin in the palm of his hand and when his gaze fell on Matsuda, he turned away quickly.

Matsuda sighed. He'd heard, of course.

Just as he started to walk over to his seat beside Raito, Mikami put his hand down on the younger man's shoulder. Matsuda looked back at him, surprised. "Y-Yes?"

"Matsuda, you skipped class yesterday and were loitering outside the classroom today."

"I-I wasn't loitering! You saw me, that guy-"

"What about yesterday?"

Matsuda blinked and then faked a cough into his hand. "I was sick…"

Mikami looked at him skeptically. "You will sit at the front of the class today." He walked around his desk much to Matsuda's confusion and emerged with a long white, ribbon with some red writing on it. Mikami walked over towards his student and, before Matsuda could scatter, he tied the ribbon tightly around his head. Written boldly on it was, "Dunce."

Everyone in the class laughed, save for Raito, who still refused to look at him and instead turned to face out of the window.

Matsuda was beet-red. He turned away from the class and sat on an old stool by the blackboard. It creaked under his weight and Matsuda looked down at it, tilting his head like a curious kitten. When he determined it wouldn't fall, he settled himself and then toppled into a heap, the stool collapsing beneath him.

Everyone roared with laughter once again, or so Matsuda heard, buried under the wood. He'd hit his head pretty badly on the floor and when he sat up, he felt someone grab his arm.

"Matsuda, are you all right?"

Matsuda blinked. Just who was it concerned about him? He lifted his head and opened his bleary eyes, a vision of Raito appearing before him. Raito knelt at his side and pulled him up, dusting off his sweater. Matsuda was pulled to his feet and smiled at Raito then, coughing from the dust floating about.

"I-I'm okay…" He looked a mess, hair wild and dirt all over his face and clothes, his sleeves ripped. Raito gave him a sort of lopsided smile, one eyebrow raised. Matsuda rubbed the sore part of his head. "Hey… um, Raito, I…"

"What?"

"… Would you-"

"Raito, please take a seat," Mikami said, coming up behind them. He placed a hand on Raito's shoulder, turning him away from Matsuda. "There's broken wood over here, I don't want you to get hurt."

"Oh… you're right."

Matsuda watched, heartbroken as Raito was shown back to his seat and he and Mikami held a quiet conversation there with Mikami leaning far into Raito's personal bubble. The rest of the class had gone back to their previous activities and Matsuda frowned, frustration building up inside of him. He finally cried out, "Hey! Where am I supposed to sit now, huh?"

Mikami whipped his head around at him, glasses glinting in the florescent light. "Sit somewhere in the corner."

"I can't sit there!"

He rolled his eyes. "Sit at my desk then. Just stop making a racket, students are trying to work."

"I'm a student too!"

"Do you want to stay after class?"

Matsuda frowned deeply and walked over to the large desk, plopping down in the leather swivel chair. He pouted, placing his chin in his palm and looked over at Mikami. Mikami seemed satisfied and turned back to Raito. Matsuda pursed his lips. _Honestly_, he thought, _how is Raito supposed to get any work done with that guy breathing down his neck? I mean, not that Raito needs to prove himself to the likes of Mikami but… Everyone else gets to be undisturbed. He's… ah… what the?_

Matsuda perked up and leaned over to try and catch a glimpse at what Mikami was doing. While everyone else was turned to their midterm projects, Raito was still sitting at his desk with his hand in Mikami's. The professor brought it up to his mouth and ran his lips over the smooth skin tenderly before firmly placing a kiss on each of his fingertips. Raito sighed, watching Mikami's movements like he was seeing fireworks at the end of a summer festival.

_WHAT? But… but, Raito! Raito, I was… I was supposed to protect you…_

When class was over and everyone including Raito had gathered their belongings, Mikami finally directed some attention towards Matsuda sitting at his desk. "You may go, Matsuda. I won't make you stay after because I have another class but do not be late again, understand?"

Matsuda stood up and faced forward, scowling and sticking out his tongue as Mikami bent over the desk. He walked out of the classroom, his books held loosely in his hands. How could he had even skipped one day of being with Raito just for the cause of embarrassment? It seemed unbelievably selfish. And now… now it was too late.

Mikami had won.

"Matsuda? Hey, Matsuda?"

He looked up, startled by the voice and noticed Raito walking beside him. "Oh, Raito… hello."

"Are you all right? Kind of a nasty fall in there, huh?" he asked, scanning Matsuda's body for any break of skin.

"Oh… no, I'm all right," Matsuda sighed and turned back to the floor where he felt his gaze belonged. Raito didn't say anything else but continued to walk beside him. Matsuda wondered just where they were going because, really, he hadn't noticed the turn they took out into the courtyard. When the brisk air hit them, Matsuda shivered a little and clutched his items to his chest.

Raito glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and then looked up ahead. "So, you weren't in class yesterday."

Matsuda coughed half-heartedly. "I was sick."

"Oh, please. You don't have to lie to me, Matsuda, and you don't have to be shy around me. I know how Matt is, I know he… _embellishes _things," Raito sighed and rolled his eyes.

Matsuda turned away, his cheeks pink from not just the cold.

Raito frowned. "Okay, all right. I won't talk about it."

"Is… is there something going on with you and Professor Mikami?" Matsuda asked suddenly, looking up at Raito. The two of them stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and Raito was startled to see that Matsuda was almost in tears, his lips placed firmly in a pout.

"Um… well, I mean, he's a nice person, Matsuda. I know you don't like him, but… here…" Raito leaned in and Matsuda's breath hitched when the brunet's hand cupped his cheek. His hand wandered into the younger man's hair and just as Matsuda decidedly closed his eyes and leant in as well, he heard something unwind and felt cold on his forehead. Raito backed up and held the ribbon that Matsuda had forgotten was tied to him.

Matsuda gaped.

"Now," Raito said, dropping the ribbon, "please don't be upset, Matsuda."

"… I-I'm not upset… I'm just worried about you, Raito!"

"Why?" he laughed. "I'm grown, I can take care of myself."

"He's too old," Matsuda stressed.

"He's a year older than me." Raito placed a hand on Matsuda's shoulder. "Really, you're still very young."

Matsuda sighed, glancing away. He was silent for a moment and Raito's hand was taken off of his shoulder. The brunet began to walk away but just as he took the fifth step, Matsuda called out, "Go out with me!"

Raito blinked and turned around.

"Please? Just once. I won't ask again."

"Mat-"

"I'll pay for everything! We'll go off campus! Okay? Please, just give me a chance?"

More silence. Raito's shoulders sagged and he placed one hand on his forehead. "I can't believe this…"

Matsuda squealed. "Does that mean yes?"

"Only if you never do that again."

"Rodger that! Okay, how about Wednesday?" _That'll give me a chance to borrow a car from someone… oh, jeepers, I hope I remember how to drive…_

Raito nodded. "All right, whatever you want." _No one better accuse me of being uncharitable again…_

"I'm so excited," Matsuda sang aloud, gaining the attention of just about everyone in the courtyard. Raito turned away in shame.

-

For the past few days, Near had rarely gone out. He only attended classes, traveling to them with that damned blanket over his head so that Mello couldn't recognize him. However, in the back of his mind, he was quite sure that there weren't many five foot tall students who ran around with blankets on their heads.

He hadn't spoken to Mello in quite a while and ignored him when he would beat on Near's door in attempt to get him to open up. Near stayed holed up inside and usually put stuffed animals up to his ears in order to keep Mello's sounds out. He didn't think it was his obligation to tell the blond what was wrong - he knew. And Near knew he did. What was worse is that when Mello would demand entry and to be able to talk, he never once said sorry.

Matt tried the same approach, save shouting. One time when Near went out in his blanket to class, Matt was waiting outside behind his door. When Near was out in the hallway, Matt pounced from behind him and kidnapped the little bugger, ignoring his mewls and protests and walked with him back into Near's dorm room, closing the door behind them. When he set Near down, the boy looked as close to furious as a little sheep could get.

"Matt," he chided, holding his blanket close. "What in the world was that for?"

"Near, I thought you said you would talk to Mello!"

"That was before."

"Before what? What happened? Tell me so I can fix it, all right?" Matt pleaded.

Near turned away. "You can't fix everything… Mello's just being… He…"

Matt sighed and leaned back on the door, crossing his arms. "Hey, we can be here all day."

"Matt, I have to go to class," he huffed.

"I know Mel was drunk, okay, and he can… say things he doesn't mean when he gets like that," Matt explained, ignoring Near. "Now, come on, what'd he say? You can tell me, can't you?"

"…"

"We're friends, right?"

Near glanced up at him shrewdly. He was a little surprised to see that Matt had taken down his goggles and hung them around his neck. Near sighed, looking away - he _hated_ looking into Matt's eyes. They always made him want to spill everything. He said, "Mello told Raito… he told him that I… I…"

"You, you?"

"That I… curl my toes when I…" Near swallowed and noticed Matt didn't understand. Near made hand motions.

Matt blinked. "Oh… _oh_! Aw, come on, Near, that's not a big deal! We all have our little quirks. That's fucking adorable though."

"Matt!"

Matt laughed and couldn't resist giving him a hug. Near let himself be held but was too upset at being kidnapped to do much hugging back. After that, Matt decided not to try and push Near and Mello anymore. Near was right, he guessed, he couldn't fix everything and when he tried, he seemed to only make everything ten times worse. He let Near toddle off to class and went back to his dorm only to give Mello disapproving looks. Since they'd had a fight, Mello had been skipping all of L's classes.

He didn't want to have a run in with Near if the boy was still sore at him. And for some reason, it was too much for Mello to apologize for something that wasn't even his fault. Okay, maybe the thing with Raito was his fault… but Near wouldn't listen to him anyway.

So Mello had a lot of time on his hands. But he didn't really like it. It was boring lounging around the dorm all day, just leaving for classes. Mello wasn't one for cold air so he avoided using the outside hallways as much as possible, subconsciously avoiding taking out his leather winter coat. Matt always said the fur on the hood made him look like an expensive hooker.

On Monday when Matt was coming back from his advanced photography class, he was holding his camera with pride. He'd just gotten high praise from his professor for a series of shots he had taken of the school's restrooms and their occupants. Matt had been trying to capture the 'real life' of a person lately - not just the pretty parts like them dancing out in whirling multi-colored leaves, but things that weren't so pretty.

He walked down the hallway, eager to show Mello his pictures, and threw open the door.

"Hey, Mel - Whoa!"

"Matt, what the fuck!"

Matt laughed and turned around as Mello fumbled his pants back up to his waist, flushing a bit and his hair damp with sweat. Matt shut the door and walked over to the couch, jumping down and placing his crossed arms behind his head. Mello glared daggers at him when his pants were successfully zipped up.

"You asshole, can't you knock?" Mello grumbled.

"Dude, you were jacking off in the front room, what in hell do you want me to do? Hey, come here, check out these pictures! I got chicks on the toilet!"

"…"

_Ring ring ring._

Mello groaned and leaned over to the ringing telephone, taking the receiver off of the hook. "Hello? … L! What're you - Hey, how dare you! … WHAT? You can't say that to a student! … Fuck that, man, I - Aw, fuck you! … Fine. Fine. Love you too, bitch."

Mello slammed the phone down and jumped out of bed, heading for the door.

Matt blinked. "What's that about?"

"I have to go to fucking class," Mello moaned, opening the door and then slamming it behind him.

Matt frowned. "But what about the chicks on the toilet…?"

-

"All right, you, I'm here! Are you gonna stop-"

Mello stopped short when he entered the classroom, expecting to see all his fellow students being ignored by their professor. When he saw that the class was empty save for L and Near, he glared at the teacher's back.

"L, you ass! You tricked me!"

"I sent the rest of the class away, Mello," L droned, turning around with a lollypop hanging from his lips. "There is a more important problem that needs to be taken care of and I am here to resolve it. I cannot have you two at war because my art is going to suffer from it."

"What the fuck do you care about our problems?" Mello asked, frowning. "You've got your model."

"Really, L," said Near, "sending the class away like that… they do _pay_ to take your class."

"I receive money whether they're sent away or not."

Near sighed.

L directed his attention towards the boys. "Now, Mello, please apologize to Near. Near, please apologize to Mello."

"…"

"…"

L shook his head. "This is ridiculous."

"It is ridiculous," Mello stressed. "Even if I apologize to him, he won't listen. He's been avoiding me like the plague!"

Near snorted delicately. "Who is the one who doesn't go to class or night sessions?"

"What's the point in going if you're just going to ignore me? You may be seventeen, Near, but you get upset over the stupidest things. Who the fuck cares if I kissed Matt four years ago, we don't do shit now!"

"I suppose it's childish to also be upset when you say awful things behind my back."

"What awful things?"

L raised an eyebrow. "Yes, what awful things?"

"Stay out of this, L!" Mello shouted.

L shrugged. "Inquiring minds want to know."

"Well, first of all, you called me a bitch. Second… what you told Raito," Near mumbled, avoiding L's piercing gaze. "What you said about me… my, um…"

"Oh. Fucking hell, Near, what's that to be ashamed of?"

"What are we talking about?" L asked.

"Near's toes curl when he comes."

Near went completely pink and turned his eyes rigidly to L who was choking on his lollypop, trying to hide a snort of laughter. He quickly composed himself and ignored the glares he received from Mello. Near turned away from him and was promptly turned back around by L's hand on his shoulder.

"For once, Near, Mello is right. That's nothing to be ashamed of."

"You say that because it's not you we're talking about. I wish to go back to my room now."

"No one is going anywhere," L announced. "We have the rest of the day to make up on lost work. Mello, you're behind in your assignments as well and will be making them up lest you want to get an F for the semester."

"You're fucking kidding."

"I assure you that I'm not."

Near sighed, averting his eyes.

-

"_It's Matt with the Irai noon-hour radio show! This is the first time I'm fully dressed in broadcast because today we have a respectable guest! Everyone welcome Dean Wammy for his first time on the show!"_

"_Ahem. Yes, hello, everyone. Matt, happy to see you dressed."_

"_Thanks! Dean Wammy has been in charge of Irai for the past thirty years and is one of the founding fathers of the school. He's also graduated here at the top of his class and is very rich with three summer homes spread out all over the tropic regions. He's also single so if anyone out there is interested, drop him a line!"_

"…"

"_Let's get right into it. Wammy, want to read the first postcard?"_

"_Oh, of course. Thank you. Let's see, the first one reads: Dear Matt, what would be the easiest way to kidnap someone? Signed, Curious Creeper. … Is this the normal type of questions you get?"_

"_Mostly. Okay! Take some rope and lime-"_

"_Eh, best not answer that one, Matt."_

"_Huh? Really?"_

"_Yes. Next one reads: Dear Matt, is Mello a good kisser? And just how loud can Near get? Signed, Pervy Inquirer. … Well… I suppose that one's safe."_

"_Hmm. I'd say at the time, Mel was very good. He was a bit shy but he had some great tongue action going on. As for Near, it's not so much the volume as it is the never-ending stream of cries and moans. Heh. Actually… s'kinda a turn on-"_

"_Matt."_

"_Uh, yes, sir. Next?"_

"_Right_. _Is it okay for a teacher to ignore his class for a already proficient sculptor so he can get into his pants? How do we break them up? Also, can someone ask Wammy how he got L and Raito to come teach at Irai? Signed, Stuck without Sensei."_

"… _Uh, maybe Wammy should take this one. Seems to be geared toward you."_

"_Oh dear. All right. Well, I would advise letting someone know if you're being ignored by your teacher. Students shouldn't have to put up with that sort of thing, they're here to learn. As for L and Raito, Raito came to teach of his own free will. I am under the impression that L followed Raito due to bribery."_

"_What kind of bribery?"_

"_I'm sorry, Matt, that's not suitable for broadcast."_

"… _Juicy."_

-

**to be continued.**

-

A/N: _A big thanks to Andy for being "Randy." XD Questions, comments? Hit me._


	13. Gentlemen

_A/N: __Thank you, everyone! I feel better now and am able to read my precious badfics without doubting myself. But… I'm still lazy._

-

**Azure Paler than the Sky.**

**thirteen. **

As it turned out, L couldn't keep the two there that afternoon as they both had classes to attend. L told them to come back that night at around nine and they would begin. Of course, Mello had to gripe, complaining that that was the time at which he usually went to bed. L knew for a fact that this was a lie, and after calling Mello out on it, refused to give him chocolate. He gave Near a Hershey bar, however, and let them both go.

They left the classroom together, the door shutting silently behind them. Mello began down the hallway, not sparing Near a glance. Near fell in line behind him, padding quietly with his eyes cast to the floor and the chocolate bar clutched in his hand. He looked up every now and again and was, admittedly, surprised when he saw that Mello didn't glance back at him once. He walked past people like he was alone. Over the walk back, Near's grip on the candy tightened.

The doors opened to the outside and Mello walked out into the courtyard, shivering a bit. Near followed and they hadn't gotten five steps out of the building when Near stopped in his tracks and said, "Mello."

Mello slowed to a stop and looked over his shoulder, an eyebrow raised.

Near held up the chocolate bar and caught Mello's gaze. "Here," he said. Mello regarded the candy for a bit, his eyes wandering from Near's face back to his hand. The cold was starting to get to Near a little, easily penetrating his long-sleeved shirt and jeans. He started to trembled just a little and maybe that wasn't from the weather. _Please just take it, Mello. _

Mello shrugged and shook his head, turning back around. "You keep it," he called and it was barely heard over the shouts from the courtyard. Near slowly lowered his hand as Mello walked away, his boots clicking against the cement.

-

_I'm first_, Raito thought and smirked to himself as he sat down in one of the empty chairs. He had just entered the teacher's lounge in the main building with a brownbag lunch he'd made himself. It was a bit of a routine for L and Raito, meeting at lunchtime like this, when they could spare the time, because Heaven knows that they were _such_ busy individuals. Raito rolled his eyes at the thought; L was known to sometimes abandon his classes because he was out of _sweets_, for God's sake. So some time just to hang around with Raito was not hard to come by - not that Raito would ever consider it hanging out. They were adults with careers… it just happened to be the same career.

He had no sooner sat down when the door swung open again and L trudged in, hunched over as usual.

"Ah, Raito, how long have you been waiting for me?" he asked, sitting next to the brunet.

Raito frowned and looked away from him. "I was not waiting for you. Even though I'm not a teacher anymore, I'm still permitted to come to this room."

"No, you aren't."

Raito groaned.

"So, did you bring it?"

"Hmm? … Oh, right. Yes." He opened his bag up and searched around inside, careful not to damage his sandwich of bruise his apple. His hand emerged with a rather large Ziploc bag filed with sugary icing-topped cookies. He set it in front of L and the man's eyes lighted with hungry interest.

"You are so lucky, Raito," L said conversationally as he pushed a banana across the table to the brunet. "To have someone like Matsuda, willingly making sweets for you all the time. I'm admittedly envious."

Raito shrugged. "You want him? Take him."

"Now now, Raito, don't be coy," L said and popped a cookie into his mouth. He chewed as he continued, "What man our age wouldn't enjoy a faithful, loving wife running about in naught but a skimpy apron with a wooden spoon coated in cake mix?"

"You're demented. It's not even like that."

"Oh, that's right. Because you'd rather that pervert with the long, black hair instead." L sighed dramatically, ignoring Raito's glare. "I just don't understand you, Raito. Matsuda is a kindhearted person."

"I never said he wasn't-"

"Yet you break his heart by dating a demon in glasses."

"I'm not breaking his heart," Raito insisted, slamming his sandwich down on the table. He narrowed his eyes at L then and continued, "I accepted his invitation for a date this Wednesday! … Actually, I'm sort of regretting it now. I feel like I'm leading him on when in fact…" He sighed.

"Well, I hope it's enjoyable."

Raito raised an eyebrow. "You're being oddly supportive, Lawliet. Why do you want me to be with Matsuda so badly?"

L put another cookie in his mouth and grumbled, "Because I have twenty dollars riding on it…"

"What?"

"Nothing."

"No, really, I couldn't hear you with that cookie in your mouth." Raito looked at him and when it didn't seem that L would answer, he sighed and turned back to his food. "By the way," he began, "Matt tells me the twins still aren't speaking."

L glanced at him, a smirk tugging at his lips. _The twins_, of course, referred to Near and Mello. It was a secret pet name for the pair given to them by - who? - no one could remember now but it had started somewhere within the school and had followed them around for quite a while, unknown to either of them. L shook his head and sighed a little. "That's right."

"How do you expect to finish everything by the showing with them like that? When is it, anyway?"

"Well, I had set the date for December 31st…"

"Oh, Lawliet, there's no way-"

"I can do it," L affirmed. "I have a plan."

Raito rolled his eyes. "Lawliet, your plans never work."

"Yes they do."

"Like when?"

"All the time. You just don't notice."

"If no one but you notices the end result as being pleasant then your plan was a failure."

"What makes it so?"

"Third-party perspective," Raito said, ticking the reason off on a finger. His eyes rolled towards L's. "Other people _agreeing_ it was a success."

L shook his head, smiling. "Raito, if that were true, both you and I would be in so much trouble."

Raito groaned, placing his head in his hand.

-

Later that night, as L sat in the studio at one of the chairs, waiting for his pupils to arrive. It was a bit after nine and, of course, neither one was on time. L expected this from Mello, but not from Near and L entertained himself with the thought that perhaps they had made up and that's why they were late. But his theory was proved wrong when the door opened up and Near was there in the doorway, long jeans sagging a little on his hips and a long-sleeved blue shirt.

"Ah, there you are," L said, smiling at him. He tilted his head when Near smiled and nodded back to him, taking a seat across from him at the table. "Where's Mello?"

Near motioned towards the door. "He's coming," he said, "he just didn't want to walk with me, I guess."

"I see."

The door opened again and only L looked up to see Mello, standing in the arch of the door. He leaned up against the jamb and looked over at the two sitting at the table, one eyebrow raised. His eyes lingered on Near for a bit and then he shrugged at L.

"Well, here I am," he said, sighing. "Let's get to work."

L smirked. "Suddenly, Mello, you're so eager to work again after avoiding me for so long." He stood up from his seat and pushed in his chair, walking over to Near as he stood and took the boy by the hand, leading him to the center of the room. L looked over his shoulder at Mello.

Mello blinked and walked forward. "Yeah. I've decided… it was really stupid of me…"

As L placed Near in the center of the room, hands on his shoulders, Near looked mildly in Mello's direction as he continued, "I should have my priorities in order. I really look up to you, L, and I want to be your apprentice. So whatever little problems I'm having with Near should be kept out of this room."

Near paused, breath inhaled and locked gazes with Mello for a second. The blond looking back was airy about it, not seeming to register Near's feelings at all, and Near looked away, face hidden by his silver bangs. L blinked down at him when he felt his shoulders under the cloth trembling slightly. L parted his lips to speak but then sighed and turned back to Mello.

"That's a mature standpoint to have," he said thoughtfully, thumbnail at the corner of his mouth as he stared back at the loll of Near's head. "Mello, go to the closet down the hallway for me. Inside is a tall chair and I need you to bring that in here. Use your key to get in."

"Oh, okay," Mello hummed, walking towards the door. It closed behind him and Near and L were left alone once again.

Near cleared his throat as silence incased them. He looked up at L, masking his disappointment and heartbreak at Mello's earlier statement. "Chair?" he asked.

"Yes, I decided to use that inside of the window sill. I don't want you to catch a cold from sitting up against the cold glass naked."

Near flushed, turning away. "L, I… I don't know…"

"It's really not a big deal, Near. Mello has done it for you."

"Again, that's Mello. We're different." He paused and lowered his eyes. "Um… have you ever done it, L?"

L paused, blinking at Near. "Hm. I don't believe I have."

"…"

"How about this… I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

"L!"

The door opened again and the two were greeted by Mello's shouts, "Goddamn, L! This thing is heavy! Why're you having him sit in a fucking Lay-Z-Boy?" Mello grunted as he dragged in the chair which wasn't a Lay-Z-Boy at all but a long-legged chair with metal armrests. The entire thing was painted black - the paint was dingy and fading, however, and the material on the seat of the chair was ripped and wearing thin in certain spots. Mello dragged it into the center of the room, the sound of the metal grating against the tiles was horrible and caused everyone to cringe.

He finally sat it down in front of Near. L nodded in thanks and turned it around to face the mirrors, taking a step back from it and then moving it more towards the window. He took another step back, examined it and then smiled to himself, looking over at Near.

"Sit down," he requested softly as he took a few steps backwards. Mello was standing over by the table, leaning on it with his hands crossed over his chest and looking at Near with an analytical eye. With all the attention on him, Near sighed and climbed upon the seat, having to place one foot in the grating in order to hoist himself up. Once he had turned around in the seat, he sat naturally and looked at L, waiting for instruction. L considered. "Lean to the left," he said, "and place your left leg out. Keep your legs apart. Wider… wider-"

"L," Near gasped, his legs clinging to each other once again. "If I'm going to be naked, that would be so…"

"We all have the same thing, Near," Mello said, rolling his eyes. "Stop being so shy."

Near looked over at the blond and stared for a moment. Mello looked at him for a fraction of a second before looking towards the windows and the moon looming over the academy. Finally, Near turned back to L and nodded faintly. "Okay," he croaked, lifting his head a little, the hair falling out of his eyes. He parted his thighs again. "I'll do it."

L walked forward and placed his hands on Near's knees, smiling. "You'll see," he said, "it'll be okay. Take your shirt off."

Near did so and the fabric fell to the floor behind the chair, crumbled in the moonlight. L moved the boy's arms; his left arm over the back of the chair and his right arm laying over the right armrest. He tilted his head downwards and told Near to relax his back. The legs of the chair rocked a bit on the uneven tiling which set Near at unease but L reassured him with a small smile as he came down on one knee before the chair and held Near's left foot in his hand.

Near watched with interest as L carefully unlaced his tennis shoe and set it beside himself on the ground. The sock followed and was set inside the little shoe. L said, "Other foot, please," gently, as if he were about to deflower a virgin - something that Near no longer was and hadn't been for a while but he couldn't help but feel comforted by all the niceties. Near lifted his right foot carefully, not wanting to stray from his position. L took it and unlaced that shoe as he had done the other. When both shoe and sock were gone and L held Near's bare foot in his hand, he smiled, not at Near, but at the pale skin presented to him.

He leant in a little, eyelids fluttering and Near swore he could almost feel L's eyelashes up against his skin. There was a pause and Near let out a small gasp as L's lips grazed slightly against his shin and slid upwards as L rose from his knees and kept Near's leg held firmly in his hand, his hand sliding up into the pant leg. He came forward, his hand sliding to the juncture at the back of Near's knee.

L reached out his hand towards the button of the jeans Near wore and deftly snapped it open as if he had done it a hundred times. Near only watched numbly as his zipper was pulled down, the only sound in the room. L set Near's leg back down and took hold of the waistband, tugging lightly and watching Near's facial expression as if asking for permission. Near was breathless and completely puzzled. Before, L had been pushing so hard for this and now, oh God, if he kept up these gentle movements like that… and the way Near lifted his hips automatically, the only orders he needed in L's eyes.

He swallowed heavily and L pulled down, the jeans falling around his ankles and finally to the floor. The only thing between L's hand, resting on Near's thigh, and his bare skin were thin, white boxers. Near gripped the metal armrest for a moment with his right hand and lifted his hips again, eyes lowered to L's hand, already at the waistband of his undergarment. Near wanted L to hurry and get it over with, all this tension over his body was killing him and his face really couldn't get any pinker.

But it wasn't quick and nonchalant at all. L slid them down his pelvis slowly and when the band reached mid-thigh, Near looked away completely, his eyes closing as his boxers fell down to his ankles and joined his pants on the floor. Near's breathing was labored from the cold and his chest was shuddering, his pert nipples pink and surrounded by goosebumps.

He was spread out under L's gaze and regretting, regretting, _regretting_ this stupid decision of his and how bendable he was to his teacher, but suddenly, there was warmth and it was a hand cupping his cheek, turning him back to face L. Near opened his eyes hesitatingly, gasping at the way L's eyes ran rampant all over his body.

"See? Was that so bad?" he asked, taking his hand away.

Near made a small sound in the back of his throat, mourning the loss of touch maybe.

Mello stood over in the corner by the table, his eyes wide and mouth open.

_What the fuck was that!_

-

"_Live from New York, it's Matt! … Nah, just kidding. But this IS the Irai noon-hour radio show and I AM Matt. And I am once again in all my boxer glory because our special guest today is my best friend and crabby roommate, Mello!"_

"…"

"_Come on, Mel, say hi!"_

"_Matt, I feel fucking stupid."_

"_Aw, come on, you said you'd help me out with this! Don't bring your misery and woe on the air, dude, you're bumming out the crowd."_

"_Fucking hell… all right, HI."_

"_That a boy! All right, well, a little about Mello then. He's a bondage-wearing blond with a chocolate fixation and his favorite sexual position-"_

"_MATT."_

"_Okay! Okay! S-Stop the abuse! … Jeez. Just trying to inform the masses. It's my job, you know?"_

"_You're an ass."_

"_Love ya, bud. Let's cheer you up with some fan mail, okay? Here, take this and read it."_

"… _Dear Mattie-kins,__couple questions. Are you Seme or Uke? And how hard would it be to kidnap you? 'Cause I got plenty of rope, here, hun. Signed with much love, Curious Creeper. … This guy's deranged."_

"_Well, let's see… what an interesting, soul-searching question! What do you think, Mel?"_

"_I don't fucking give a shi-"_

"_I think I'm seme. Totally. I mean, there have been a few cases where I had to take it but, yeah, normally, I could top anyone."_

"_Pft."_

"_Uh, as for kidnapping… dunno, dude. I think maybe a nice, shiny Wii Fitness might persuade me to follow you around for a bit. S'about it though. Next card. I'll read it since Mel's pouting."_

"_What?"_

"_Reads: Dear Matt, how much does Mello charge per hour and how much for a blowjob? Signed, Down The Hall."_

"…"

"…"

"_WHAT THE FUCKING HELL, FUCK YOU, BLOWJOB MY ASS, I'LL HACK YOU INTO BITS, YOU COCKSUCKER! YOU'RE THAT CREEPY FRESHMAN WHO PISSES HIMSELF, AREN'T YOU? ADMIT IT! I GOT A NEW FRESHMAN STICK SO COME HERE AND GET BLOWN, MOTHER-"_

_Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeep._

-

Had the Wednesday night moon looked down into the A dorms of Irai Academy a few days later, it would have certainly found Matsuda in the shower of his bathroom, the water running down his body sporadically as he swayed his hips from side to side. He had learned quite a while ago that it wasn't wise to do too much dancing in the shower as he was already accident prone and adding water and soap wasn't any good. So usually, when he was in the dancing-naked mood, he would just sway and head-bang.

Currently on his bathroom radio was one of his favorite Jessica Simpson songs of all time, _I Think I'm In Love With You_, and he sung aloud, trying to keep his voice at an acceptable volume. The last thing he wanted was his next-door neighbors complaining again. But this time, Matsuda could barely control himself, his voice reaching glass-shattering heights as he tried to mimic the blonde. He just felt so good - finally, a chance to go out with wonderful Raito Yagami. In truth, Matsuda hadn't really believed that this day would ever come.

As he stepped out of the shower and onto the towel set on the floor, he wondered if Mikami knew anything about their date. Part of him hoped Mikami didn't know, that way he would have a special secret with Raito all his own and they could carry on an affair like on daytime TV. Of course, Matsuda was a bit ignorant as to what an affair meant but it sure did sound like fun. On the other hand, if Mikami knew about it, he would be super jealous, which appealed to Matsuda quite nicely.

He placed a towel around his waist and looked up at the little frog clock on the wall. He still had about an hour before he was supposed to meet Raito out in the courtyard but that really wasn't a lot of time. He sighed at the sight of himself in the fogged-over mirror and wiped it off with the palm of his hand. His face and part of his torso were revealed to him and he pulled at a wet lock of hair disinterestedly. What could he do to make himself look more presentable?

Girls used makeup… but Matsuda couldn't do that. For one, he'd have to go borrow some for he had none in the apartment. And for two, Raito might notice and think he was weird. Maybe a haircut? No, it'd be a hack job if he tried to do it himself and in a hurry.

"What can I do?" he groaned, ruffling his hair with both hands wildly. When he was done, he looked like he'd just rolled out of bed and he groaned even louder.

-

**to be continued.**

-

A/N: _Next chapter shall be longer. -rubs shoulders- Please keep those postcards coming. Review, yeah?_


	14. Target

_A/N: __Here thar be hot, sweaty MANSEX. … Haha, not really. XD Have fun with your non-mansex chapter. _

-

**Azure Paler than the Sky.**

**fourteen.**

"Raito! I-I'm here!"

… _Great. _

Raito arched an eyebrow in Matsuda's direction as the student came flailing his way. He was about five minutes late which was early for Matsuda. Raito had briefly entertained the thought that maybe Matsuda would have been too nervous to come after all and though he really didn't like the thought of getting stood up, it would be for the best. Raito had had one hell of a time trying to get Mikami to be okay with this whole thing. He couldn't just lie to his and tell him he was going to be in his apartment all night because Mikami was notorious for sneaking up on Raito with flowers and wine.

So he had told him earlier in the day that he was going to be going out with Matsuda that night, just as friends. Mikami didn't buy it for one moment, going on and on about how it wasn't safe, that Matsuda was a deranged lunatic under disguise as a simpleton. Raito thought about it but in the end, couldn't agree. If Matsuda was in disguise, he would be the greatest actor to ever grace the Earth.

When Raito ignored him and said that he was going anyway, Mikami said, "If it will make you happy, beautiful, then go ahead. But I'll be worried about you until you come back. I'm sorry if I seemed upset but I don't trust anyone with such a precious jewel."

Raito positively melted every time Mikami spoke that way. So he had drifted out of the dorms and into the courtyard where he sat waiting. Truthfully, he hadn't been there too long, only since about five forty-five but now, at six o' five as Matsuda jumped onto the white stone of the courtyard, the moon was just fading and threw up vast purples and reds all over the sky, stars twinkling dimly overhead.

"Hey, Matsuda," he said, standing from one of the tables. He'd decided to try not to worry too much about what to wear. But, being Raito, that was hard and so he decided to go in jeans, and a long-sleeved white and gold shirt underneath a red hoodie.

"Hi! Sorry about being late. You know, I got out of the shower and thought about what to do with my hair and my face but, you know, I'm a boy and I'm not gothic so makeup really wasn't-"

"It's okay, really," Raito said hurriedly, not wanting to hear a life story right then.

Matsuda smiled brightly and scratched at the back of his head, looking around. His eyes wandered back to Raito, traveling from toe to head. "Uh… y-you look great, by the way."

"Oh. Thanks." Raito looked at Matsuda's attire: a pair of jeans and a dark blue hoodie thrown on. At least his hair was combed. "You look good too."

Matsuda brightened. "Really?"

Raito considered. "Yeah."

"Thanks! Well, I guessed we'd better get going," Matsuda said, walking around Raito and off of the square. Raito blinked and followed, catching up to him as Matsuda speed walked around the side of the building towards one of the parking lots. When Raito was walking side by side with him, he noticed that Matsuda wouldn't look at him and that there was a small smile tugging at his lips. Raito couldn't help but laugh as they turned off of the grass and into the lot.

Matsuda looked up, blinking. "What?"

"Nothing… Um, what're we doing back here? This isn't your idea of a good time, is it?" he asked, smirking at how Matsuda blushed.

"N-No, no, nothing like that." He smiled then and raised a ring of keys out of his back pocket.

Raito blinked and looked around. "A car? You have a car?"

Matsuda nodded and pointed the small pad on the key ring over Raito's head. He pressed a button and the sound of a beep went off. Raito turned around and his eyes widened at the red car that had been unlocked and whipped his head around to find Matsuda walking towards it. Raito jogged lightly to catch up, calling, "Hey! Hey, wait a minute, we're using Matt's car?"

"Yup," Matsuda chirped, "wasn't that nice of him?"

"Try unheard of. That boy values this car more than air." Raito looked on, perplexed. _And he trusted it to Matsuda? Jesus. _

Matsuda whistled cheerfully as he opened Raito's door for him and walked around to the other side, climbing in. Raito sighed and got in, closing the door behind him and beginning to strap on his seatbelt. He looked over at Matsuda doing the same and starting up the car. "Hey, so…" he began, sitting upright, "I didn't know you had a license, Matsuda…"

"Oh, yup, I sure do! I just never had a car so I don't get much practice is all."

Raito blinked and slowly began to tighten his seatbelt.

Matsuda caught sight of this and laughed, "Don't worry! I'm a good driver!" He then proceeded to back up, neglecting to check any mirrors. There was a loud 'BEEEP' behind them and they whirled their heads around to see someone in a black Mercedes that they'd almost hit. They were waving obscene hand signs and shouting. Matsuda smiled and waved back at them. "Sorry 'bout that! Go ahead."

Raito wanted to cry.

-

Near fought with himself as he sat in the chair, legs spread wide and head tilted to the side as he had been for the past couple of nights. Each session was like this and he absolutely hated it. Near couldn't stand the way his blood boiled and hissed beneath the creamy layer of his skin from the excitement of being the sole object of L's attention - when L's eyes were on him just over the canvas, his whole body was throbbing with the feeling.

He had to be conscious of every movement he wanted to make - the twitching of his fingers or the slight shuddering of his stomach. He had to keep completely still and for those who thought they knew Near, they would say, _well, he's still all the time so what's the big deal? _But during daily activities Near found that he had never wanted to move so much. Seeing the way L's shoulders moved as he worked on the canvas and his eyes darting all around Near's body, there was a nasty twitching that ran rampant throughout the boy and he wanted to act on it.

Near wondered as he sat there if Mello had had these feelings to when they worked together. But that was completely impossible; Near had never given Mello those god-awful hungry eyes as he watched him. He merely took Mello to the canvas. He didn't ravish him on the way there. Because, really, there was something completely lewd in the way that L painted and Near was in awe over it.

Conflicting feelings, he guessed was the problem. Sitting there like that, told not to move and given nasty glares every time he made the tiniest motion, he felt like he was captive to the pose and the moonlight reflecting off of the mirrors on the other side of the room. But the feeling of being desired from the second he took off his clothes to the second he put them back on again, that was something that never left Near's mind even when he went back to his room for the night. Like being in the afterglow of sex, it was something that crawled all down his body and lingered there.

_Still, he's a teacher_, Near thought to himself, blushing as L peered over the canvas again. _Teachers don't…I mean, well, Raito did but is L really the same? They're completely different. And Matt is older than I am anyway. But… _

Of course, it was complete insanity to think that L had those sorts of feelings for him. As the professor had said over and over again - and usually at the most inappropriate times - the creative process was intimate and loving, like conceiving a child. It made sense when he thought about it that way but otherwise, it was just crazy. It was crazy the way L looked at him or the way L would always offer to undress him. And it was crazy the way Near had to fight with himself like a madman to stay flaccid. He hadn't taken that into account when he agreed to pose naked. There was nothing to hide behind and if he couldn't control himself, it would be there for everyone to see.

L… and Mello, who stood at L's side and assisted him with suggestions and crushing paints when he wasn't banished to the table to catch up on his assignments. Mello was standing there then, looking at the canvas and occasionally at Near. There was nothing warm or heated in Mello's gaze, if anything, there was an ample amount of irritation. Like he was upset that Near got to model for L and not him.

And Near was not a prideful person by nature but whenever he thought of the horrible way Mello had been acting recently, he got a bit bolder and spread his legs the tiniest bit wider.

"Near, you're moving your head."

Near looked up, startled and Mello groaned. "Now you're completely out of position."

"I-I'm sorry," he said to L, ignoring Mello's griping.

L shook his head and walked forward, leaving the paintbrush on the shelf of the easel. Near tensed up a little at the smile on L's face and he bit back a sigh as L's pale, spidery hands cupped his cheeks and tilted his head at an angle that his bangs fell back from his forehead.

"Near," he said thoughtfully, "we're going to give you some training. This will never work if you don't believe in yourself."

Near blinked, surprised. "What do you mean?"

"You have to believe you're the sexiest thing on this Earth," he insisted, ignoring Near's furious blush and sputtering. "It shouldn't be that hard. You're quite close as it is."

"Ah… w-what-"

"Mello, come here."

"What? What's the hold up over here?" Mello groaned, walking over. Near watched his expression change from annoyance to disturbed shock as he viewed L's hands all over Near's face. L took them away though when Mello stood next to him and Near wanted to faint with both of them so close and staring down at his body.

L nodded to Mello, "Mello is going to show you how, right, Mello?"

"… Show him how to what?"

L leaned over and whispered something into Mello's ear. Before he was even done, Mello recoiled with a distraught look on his face. "Aw, hell! Are you serious? I can't just-"

"You can and you will."

"…" Mello glared at him for a bit and, upon seeing that had no effect, he sighed. "Fine, fine. Whatever." He looked towards the boy in the chair and pursed his lips a bit before a fire lit in his eyes and a smirk appeared on his lips. He placed his hands on the metal armrests and gripped them tightly, leaning down into Near. The boy gasped beneath him and it was muffled under his kiss. Mello's left hand moved down from the armrest to fondle Near between his thighs and caused him to tremble and moan.

L watched this with astute curiosity. When Mello pulled away from Near, L nodded and said, "Now, Near, how do you feel?"

"… H-How do I… I can't-" Near was cut off when Mello lowered himself again and took possession of Near's mouth roughly, forcing his way inside. Near tried to pull away but L put his hand on the back of Near's head, tangling his fingers in the white curls, as Mello kept a grip on his hands. Near felt dizzied and was beyond trying to keep himself from getting erect.

Mello pulled away again, panting, his hair falling into his eyes. He pushed some of it back behind his ear and looked at Near objectively with one eyebrow raised. L smirked and leant in then, ignoring Near's shivering as his lips grazed against the shell of his ear. He whispered, lowering his voice so that only he and Near could hear it, "Do you want more?"

Near's breath caught in his throat, his eyelids lowering and the blush spreading throughout his body. "I… um… L…"

"That's it," Mello said, nodding.

"Good." L smiled and straightened back up, turning on his heel and walking back to the canvas with Mello in tow. "Near, keep that expression on your face. I don't want to have to stop to correct the problem again."

"…"

-

_Baby when we're grinding,_

_I get so excited._

_Ooh, how I like it,_

_I try but I can't fight it._

Matsuda hurriedly turned the CD player off, a blush spreading across his cheeks. He fumbled with it for a second before the sound bubbled down and the CD popped out. Raito rolled his eyes and grabbed the disk, placing it on the dashboard.

Matsuda laughed half-heartedly, "I guess me and Matt don't really have the same taste in music…"

"Barely anyone has Matt's taste in music," Raito sighed, leaning back in the chair and looking up through the window at the stars wheeling overhead. It was quiet for a few minutes before he turned back to Matsuda and said, "So, where're we going?"

"Oh! We're going to the mall movie theatre," he said as he ran a red light.

"M-Matsuda!" Raito gasped, looking back.

"Yes?"

"You just… I mean…" He sighed heavily and collapsed in his seat. "Never mind. You were saying?"

"Uh… oh, the mall movie theatre and then I figured we could go walking around afterwards."

Raito shrugged. "That sounds good. I've been meaning to get new shoes anyway."

Matsuda smiled to himself and they pulled into the mall parking lot. He was happy Raito liked the idea because, unable to think of any place to go for a date, Matsuda had gone to the library at the school and got on a chat site to ask for ideas. The people of the internet had come through for him. When they were finally parked in front of something that wasn't a speed bump, Matsuda jumped out of his seat and ran around the car to open Raito's door.

"Um… thanks," he mumbled, getting out.

Matsuda nodded and walked by his side as they walked along the concrete. "I really like this mall," he said, "you always see the most interesting things."

"Interesting things?" Raito asked.

"Yeah. Like, there was this one time, I was here for something but I can't remember what. But, oh yeah, this guy stole from Payless and when the owner realized it, he shouted 'thief, thief!' and the guy went running. So this one guy who worked at the pretzel shop just down the way was trying to stop him and jumped on him, tackling him to the ground! But the thief was really tough and peed on him, making an opening for escape!"

"…"

"True story."

Raito gaped as they walked into the large, lit up building. _This_ was Matsuda's idea of a good time? He followed closely then, wary of everyone who bypassed them. They went to the large directory and found that the movie theater was only just down the left hall upstairs. Raito began to head for the escalator but stopped when he noticed Matsuda wasn't with him. He turned around and saw Matsuda standing in the same spot, pointing back at the elevator.

"Let's use this instead!" he called.

Raito tilted his head. "Why?"

"I don't really like them. Please?"

Raito blinked but then shrugged and followed Matsuda over to the elevator. They squeezed in with a good sized group and on the way up, Raito asked, "Why don't you like escalators?"

"I got my shoelace caught in one once. It was horrible, I was terrified and no one would help me."

"Oh, when you were little?"

"No, last week."

People snickered and Raito just sighed.

When they emerged on the second floor, the movie theater was quickly found and they stood back from the line, watching the list above the ticket booth. Matsuda looked at Raito. "What do you want to see?"

Raito shrugged at the choice. "Whatever you want." _I plan to take a nap anyway. _

"_Okay_," he drawled, looking up at the choices. His internet friends had told him to chose between a romance and a horror movie. So, it was down to either Saw 4 or Definitely Maybe. Matsuda nodded at his choice and went up to the booth to get two tickets. He came back and he and Raito walked into the theatre.

"So, what'd you pick?"

"Saw 4," Matsuda said happily.

Raito paused for a second, thinking. He looked back at Matsuda as they crossed the lobby. "You do know what that is?"

"Mm, no clue," he hummed. "I heard it was scary though."

"… Yeah."

"Do you want anything from the concession stand?"

"Oh, no, I-"

"Aw, you don't have to say that. Really, I'll get you whatever," he said, waving his arms. Raito sighed and was about to insist that he wasn't hungry but Matsuda turned him in direction of their film. "You go get seats and I'll get stuff, okay?"

"… Fine, fine," he said and walked that way.

Finding seats was fairly easy since Saw 4 had been out for a while and there weren't that many people in the room. Raito sat down and watched the previews disinterestedly. When they were over and the movie was about to start, it just the occurred to him that Matsuda hadn't returned yet.

He looked around the room, wondering if he had had trouble finding him. _Jesus, I hope he didn't get accosted and peed on…_

Just then, a figure entered the room and ambled over to Raito. Matsuda sat down next to him with a complete mountain of food piled on his lap. The mountain consisted of a large tub of popcorn, two large cokes, Muddy Bears, licorice, Reese's, Snickers, ice cream bites, sour lollipops and much more. Raito stared in awe.

Matsuda nodded to him. "Take your pick!"

"For Christ's sake, I'm not a hog, you know," he whispered. "What's all this for? Can two people even eat this much?"

Matsuda smiled. "I just didn't want you to be hungry."

Raito blinked at him for a moment and then turned back to the screen, a light blush coating his nose. Matsuda laughed and held up the large tub of popcorn. "You know you're hungry," he said tauntingly.

Raito pouted a bit but reached over and grabbed some anyway.

-

"_Hey, it's Matt here. I know I've been out of commission for a few days but that's because my twat of a friend is overly emotional and ruined the equipment. Seriously, he went berserk. You'd think with our reputation and the way he dresses, he would get used to people thinking he was a whore. Guess not._

"_Anyway, since it's so late, I have a few things I'd like to discuss that I usually don't when all the admins are listening. Let's talk a little about hygiene, folks. I, personally, take showers everyday but I know some in this school that don't and it's a bit annoying to those of us that adhere to the law._

"_Seriously, people, it's not thoughtful to go to class without bathing. I'm not gonna say names or anything but today I had this kid sit next to me in class and, good lord, I thought my eyebrows had burned away. Damn. And you may think this only affects me immediately but, really, I was concerned that the smell would follow me around all day so I had to come back to the dorm to wash up._

"_Does anyone else have any personal problems they'd like to share? I'm a bit bored so call me up at the studio and talk to me. The number's 555-MATT. That's 555-MATT. I - Oh, we got a call already! Okay, caller, you're on the air! S'happening?"_

"… _Oh? Hello? Is this Matt?"_

"_Sure is! What's your name?"_

"_Uh, well…"_

"_Oh, I get it. Shy, huh? S'okay, we'll call you Girl."_

"… _Okay. Well, anyway, I was just going to say that my boyfriend… well, I love him, I really do. I'd do anything I can for him, I feel that way from the bottom of my heart… but… it's just that he and his friends have a bet going on. They want to see who can go the longest without bathing. It's been a few weeks already and now he's wondering why we don't… um, you know…"_

"_Oh hell no, a-are you serious?"_

"_It's not funny…"_

"… _Uh, no, it's not. You're right. I feel for you, Girl. Let's see… if it were me, I'd tell the tosser off. Really, he can't expect you to hold your nose during sex. That ruins the mood. Tell his ass to take a bath."_

"_But he'll be upset."_

"_You're upset, aren't you?"_

"_Well, yes… but my feelings aren't hurt."_

"_Oh, you're one of those nice people, huh? Well, how about getting him all worked up, you know, really horny and then telling him that you want to try having sex in the shower."_

"_Oh… you think that'll work?"_

"_Sure! If you're not ugly, I bet it will."_

"… _Gee, thanks."_

"_No prob, sweetie. Next caller! … Hey, this is Matt, how's ya?"_

"_Hi, this is Dave."_

"_Hey, Dave, what can I do for you?"_

"_Well, I just sort of wanted to know what you're wearing."_

"… _Uh… black and red boxers… and socks. Well, a sock. And goggles. Uh… you?"_

"_Nothing."_

"… _Hmm."_

"…"

"…"

"_What're you doing right now?"_

"… _I'm… I'm on a radio show, dude. Uh, do you have a question or something?"_

"…"

"… _Dude, what's that noise?"_

"…"

"… _Aw shit. Are you seriously…?"_

"…"

"_Fuck. … Well… when in Rome…"_

-

When the two of them got out of the movie, Matsuda was still holding onto Raito's hand and shaking. Raito shook his head at the younger man and said, "We shouldn't have seen that, now you'll have nightmares."

"I-I didn't know what kind of horror it was," he moaned. "How can people watch that kind of thing and not pass out?"

Raito shrugged. "I'm fine," he said. Even though Raito had planned to take a nap during the movie, he was unable to due to Matsuda's constant shrieks of terror and trembling. He grabbed a hold of Raito's hand about ten minutes into the movie and Raito had held on to his hand, smirking slightly at how Matsuda tried so hard to be brave and keep his fear to a minimum but couldn't help himself.

As the went back downstairs in the elevator, Matsuda had clamed down considerably. He seemed to be enjoying the ride down. He said thoughtfully, "Do you think we value our lives enough? What if we got pulled in for a game like that?"

Raito shuddered. "Uh…"

"We'd better start enjoying life, huh, Raito? Let's go get your shoes!"

Raito gasped at being pulled by the hand off of the elevator. Once in the store, Raito looked around for the kinds of shoes that he would like but Matsuda showed him every single pair that he could find and asked Raito to try all of them on. Raito didn't even like some of them, mostly because, one, he wasn't one for leopard print and, two, they weren't in his price range. He had picked out one and when he went to pay for it, Matsuda dumped five other pairs of shoes on the counter that Raito had liked and paid for all of them.

"What… how in the world did you get all that money?" Raito asked as they left the shop. He had told Matsuda he didn't have the carry all the bags but Matsuda had insisted.

"Oh," he hummed, smiling, "I took out a student loan."

"… You did what?"

"I said, I took out a-"

"Matsuda!" Raito gasped, eyes wide.

"Please call me Matsu, Raito."

"… M-Matsu…" Raito frowned, having to get used to the sound of the pet name on his tongue. "Matsu, you do know you'll have to pay that loan _back_, right? W-Why would you do that for just one night?"

"Oh, sure, I'll pay it back. And I didn't have any money because I spent it all on cake mix. There was this new recipe I wanted to try out." His eyes rolled toward the ceiling in thought. "Actually, the cake came out pretty well. L sure enjoyed it."

Raito blinked at him and sighed, shaking his head. _I can't believe it… this kid is going to be buried in dept by the time he graduates… _

"Oh, Raito! Look!"

Raito whipped his head around, startled. "What, what?"

Matsuda grabbed a hold of one of his hands and dragged him down the hall towards a photo booth off to the side. Raito blinked when he saw what it was and slowly shook his head. "Aw, no way…"

"C'mon, please? It'll be fun!"

"I don't do well with pictures," Raito lied.

"Why not? You're so cute!"

Raito blinked and Matsuda blushed, turning away for a second. He cleared his throat and Raito sighed, taking his hand and pulling him inside of the booth much to Matsuda's surprise.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," said the brunet, sitting down on the small bench.

Matsuda smiled back at him as he chose the settings. "It'll be fine! Just smile!"

Raito frowned involuntarily.

When the pictures came out, there were two copies and Matsuda tore them apart, giving one to Raito. He looked down at it for a bit, raising a skeptical eye at the rabbit ears on his head. They left the mall a little while after that because it was getting late and Raito wanted to prevent Matsuda from spending all of his money. So they got back in Matt's car and Raito strapped his seatbelt back on, looking around worriedly. If the car didn't get a dent in it by the time they returned back to school, it would be a miracle.

Fortunately for Matsuda, Raito was an excellent back-seat driver and shouted orders when they were about to go whizzing into a ditch or about to be wrapped around a telephone pole. But they made it back safe nonetheless, pulling back into the same spot the had left hours ago. The campus was considerably quieter and even their footsteps in the stairwell sounded louder in the dead of night.

"Matsu, I think you should practice driving more in the future," Raito sighed heavily, now carrying half of the bags in one hand.

Matsuda laughed and blushed. "Yeah, probably. Could you tell I hadn't-"

"Yes, very much."

"Haha, darn."

"Well…" Raito looked around, realizing that they were at the door of his apartment. He blinked when he realized his other hand was occupied and looked down, noticing his and Matsuda's fingers were laced. Apparently, they hadn't stopped holding hands. Raito withdrew his hand slowly and nodded. "It was actually pretty fun. I never leave the campus anymore so…"

"Really?" Matsuda's eyes widened. "Y-You mean you really had fun?"

Raito blinked. "Yes, I did."

Matsuda swallowed harshly and looked away, trying to hide his mirth. Raito suppressed a laugh and then turned around, unlocking his door and heading inside. "Well, goodnight-" He was cut off when Matsuda took his hand again and turned him around, his lips connecting to the younger man's. Raito gasped at first and was silenced completely when Matsuda pushed forward, his free hand coming up to graze Raito's cheek. The whole thing lasted maybe three seconds and then Matsuda pulled away, looking aside.

"Uh… here," he said, thrusting the other bags into Raito's grasp. Raito stood there blinking for a moment and then hurriedly went inside. From the other side of the door, Matsuda could hear a mumbled, "Goodnight!"

-

**to be continued.**

-

A/N: _-is dead- Uh, as for the postcards that you sent, Matt will answer them on the regular noon show. Review, yeah?_


	15. Lollipop

A/N: _You were the last good thing about this part of town. -wink-_

-

**Azure Paler than the Sky.**

**fifteen.**

_He's… he's… oh my God, I have to talk to L!_

-

The next day was dreary and cold. The skies were cloudy and the sun seemed like it wasn't in the solar system anymore, abandoning the earth and its inhabitants in order to warm some other world far away. Because there was no warmth here and the wind ghosted through the hollowed hallways and courtyards, freezing everyone in its path. The outside hallways were mostly deserted save for the occasional student running from one building to another.

It was a little while before noon when L went trudging from the outside into the main building. He was one of the few who would actually venture outside. Despite his disdain for the cold, L really was in a hurry and wanted to take the fastest route to the teacher's lounge. So he shuffled through the dead and damp leaves and squeezed his arms to his sides as he shoved his hands deeper into his pockets.

The warmth of the building engulfed him as he entered, leaving the cold behind. He walked down the hall and left in his wake a trail of leaves that had clung to his shoes. When he arrived at the teacher's lounge, he opened the door and came inside, noticing Raito at their normal table.

The brunet looked up, startled. "La-"

"Ah, there you are. Waiting for me again, I see," L said and smirked, shutting the door quietly behind himself.

Raito frowned, only slightly. "For once, you're right. I've been waiting for you so just where have you been?"

"There's something called teaching a class. I know it must sound foreign to you…" L sighed as he sat down. He ignored Raito's glares and huffs in favor of rummaging through his bag for sweets. After placing a brownie into his mouth, he insisted on talking over it, "So, tell me, how was the date?"

Raito sighed. "That's what I want to talk to you about…"

L sent him a look.

"It's just… well, it was really weird, I'll give it that. But Matsuda was really nice, you know, he's such a sweet kid and then…"

L blinked interestedly. _Did he go for the gold?_

"Then at the end of the night, he kissed me…"

_Yes…_

"I just don't know what to do now." Raito sighed, placing his chin into the palm of his hand. "It's just that… the way he kissed me was so…"

"Homoerotic?"

"… No, Lawliet. It was… sweet. I can't remember the last time I was kissed that way. Probably in the fifth grade. But the difference is that Matsuda was good at it. And even though it was only a few seconds, I-"

"Get to the point, you're lapping into prose."

Raito glared. "The point is that I liked it. Way too much. And what the hell am I going to tell Mikami?"

"That you hate his guts?"

"Lawliet!"

"What is the big deal? You've just met this man. The only thing you like about him is that he worships you like the Greeks worshipped Apollo. He massages your ego until it is moist and limp. Matsuda truly cares about you and doesn't want to see you get hurt but you ignore him and roll your eyes at his earnest efforts. One day you will go too far and destroy his spirit."

Raito gaped at him, eyes beginning to water. "You make me sound _horrible_..."

"Broken mirrors can cut," L hummed, shrugging.

"Way to be emo. Why the sudden downward shift?"

L sighed and took another bite of a brownie. "I apologize but I am not in a good mood."

"Oh really."

"I'm conflicted."

Raito nodded sagely. "The twins again?"

"Those two will be the death of me," he sighed and put down the brownie. "They are still squabbling. It's not all bad because when Mello makes a sarcastic remark directed towards Near's person, he gets this shattered look in his eyes that I love."

"You sadist."

"Says the man dating the masochist."

"So, what's the problem?" Raito snatched a brownie from L and chewed on it thoughtfully. "Near seems like the clear choice for an apprentice since he isn't throwing a bitch fit like Mello is."

"Near bitch fits in his own way. Mello is an asshole but he does not mean to be."

"So you're leaning towards Mello?"

"Absolutely not."

"… _Near_?"

"No."

"What the-"

Just then, the door opened. Both men looked up and saw something like the flash of golden hair. L immediately thought it was Mello and was about to say something but then Wammy's assistant, Misa, poked her head in and smiled upon finding the two sitting there. She walked in, her high heels clicking on the shiny linoleum until she reached their table.

"Hey, guys," she chirruped, planting her hands down on the table's surface. She smiled at them brightly. "I had heard you come here often, Raito, and so I came right over."

"Okay…" Raito drawled and raised an eyebrow. "Did you need something?"

"I'm just wondering how your date with Matsu went."

"… Excuse me?"

She sighed, placing a hand on her hip. "You didn't strike out on him, did you, Raito? Tell me things went as planned."

"Matsuda kissed him," L said factually.

"Lawliet!" Raito frowned.

"And Raito found it quite enjoyable," he continued.

"Really? Raito, that's great!"

"What, don't listen to h - wait, why's it great?"

Before Misa decided whether she would answer or not, the door to the lounge opened up once again. The three of them turned around to come face to face with Miss Takada, the drama professor. She had a smile plastered onto her face and smoothed out her skirt before entering fully, coming up to the table to stand beside Misa.

Misa frowned at her arrival and grumbled, "We were having a conversation…"

Takada ignored her in favor of Raito who was still quite confused. "Mr. Yagami, good afternoon. I had heard you frequented the lounge at this time so I came right over… Tell me, how was your date with Matsuda last night?"

Raito gaped. "How do you know about that?"

"I know quite a lot," she said.

"Creeper," Misa mumbled.

"Mr. Yagami," Takada said, clearing her throat and suddenly becoming quite serious, "do take what you're doing to poor Professor Mikami into consideration. He shouldn't have to sit idly by while his lover prances about with the village idiot. It's humiliating."

"WHAT?"

"Just what do you know?" Misa shouted, turning to look at Takada angrily. "Matsu is not a village idiot!"

"Says the runner-up," Takada coughed.

"Hey!"

L said, "Miss Takada, do not badmouth students and do not tell lies. Professor Mikami is not to be considered _poor _in this situation - a black widow spider is a more correct likeness."

"Professor Mikami is very in love with Mr. Yagami and that date with Matsuda was shameful. Obviously, Mr. Yagami has a big heart and did it for charitable reasons. But really, he is of much higher class."

Raito's eyes widened as Misa shot back a retort to Takada. _Charitable reasons… I really did do it for that, didn't I…_

Misa was still talking, "-and that skirt is ugly-"

The door opened again, interrupting her in mid-sentence. Everyone looked behind them as Mr. Wammy poked his kind face into the room. "Raito," he greeted. "How'd the date go?"

Raito groaned. "Oh my _God_."

-

"_It's the noon-hour school show! Matt here. I'm finally back on at my normal time. Bet you all missed me, huh? Sorry I couldn't get to your postcards before so I'll be sure to answer them this time. And here to help me is my favorite ex-boyfriend, Raito!"_

"_Good grief."_

"_What kind of greeting is that? Say hi to the audience!"_

"… _For the record, I'm not at all comfortable about doing this. All the rumors circulating about me lately… it's humiliating. Actually, I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm the center of some sort of… betting ring."_

"_Raito, you're so paranoid."_

"_It's the truth! Something's just not right around here…"_

"_Well anyway, let's get to those postcards. Here, take this."_

"_Mm… __Matt, if you got a girl pregnant with triplets what would you do? And what would you call them? Also what if you'd got a great boyfriend after you broke up with the chic before you knew she was pregnant? From, I'm-living-a-soap-opera."_

"… _Uh. Wow."_

"_Let's see if your manufactured advice will cut it this time…"_

"_Hey! All right, you go ahead and answer if you're such an Abby."_

"_I-I don't-"_

"_Mmhmm…"_

"_Fine! Fine, I will. Hmm. Okay then. Well, first of all, this is a result of unsafe sex. Always use condoms or birth control when engaging in sexual activity. Talk to your physician before-"_

"_Aw, dude, I don't wanna hear it. Condoms are a thing of the past."_

"_Don't SAY that! Your listeners, for some unexplainable reason, will unconsciously listen to whatever propaganda you broadcast. Be responsible."_

"_I'm just saying. And wait a minute, I don't recall you following your own advice when we-"_

"_Matt!"_

"_What?"_

"_This is not appropriate…"_

"_We're all adults here. Relax, relax. So what about Mikami? Does his soldier have a helmet?"_

"_Good God… Matt…"_

"_What? Inquiring minds want to know."_

"_For your information, we're not lovers."_

"_Haha, that's the Raito I know! Make 'em work for it, dude!"_

"_Matt…"_

-

The next few days passed and suddenly, L's birthday was upon them. While the entire campus was covered in paper ghosts and cut-outs of witches riding broomsticks, a certain group was stationed in Matt and Mello's dorm room throwing a party for the new twenty-seven year old.

"Yeah!" Matt and Matsuda clinked their wine glasses together in celebration. They were standing right over where L happened to be sitting on the couch and wine poured down onto his white shirt. L's eyebrow twitched and he shivered at the cold fluid running down his chest.

Matsuda gasped. "Oops, I'm sorry, L!"

Matt laughed, already quite out of it. "Hey, L, I see nippage!"

"Matt, how immature," Raito tsked him and brought a paper towel over, wiping at the front of L's shirt. L told him not to make such a girlish fuss over a stain but before Raito could retort, a hand brushed his. He looked up through his amber-colored bangs and saw Matsuda with half a roll of paper towels, rubbing furiously at L's shirt. Raito smiled and looked back down.

Shortly after, L shooed them both off of him. "I do not care about the spill, that's what washing machines are for."

"If you don't treat that stain now, Lawliet, it won't disappear."

"Why should I care?"

"You're such a dirty person."

L pursed his lips a little and walked across the room where Mello was sitting on the edge of the bed with Near. They had been talking quietly on and off for a few minutes, this being one of the few times they had been in a room together lately other than class and sessions. Their voices never raised but sometimes Mello would get an agitated look on his face that L noticed from across the room.

When he approached them, Mello had leant into Near's side, attempting to place a kiss on his neck or perhaps his cheek. But Near turned a little, neglecting him and before Mello could say anything, L cleared his throat.

Both boys looked up.

"Excuse me, but I just wanted to inform you two that we will be having a session later on tonight."

Near nodded silently.

Mello blinked. "Tonight? But it's a holiday!"

"Unfortunately, I am not so important that my birthday is a holiday."

"I meant _Halloween_."

"Ah. Yes, you have a point."

Mello grinned suddenly. "So we don't have to come?"

"The session starts at one in the morning. That way it will no longer be a holiday. Satisfied, Mello?" L raised an eyebrow.

"… No! You suck!"

"Refreshing opinion." L turned towards Near who had been watching the two with silent amusement. He blushed when he caught L's gaze. "Near, you don't mind this on such short notice, do you?"

He hesitantly shook his head. "No, it's fine."

Mello gaped. "What, he gets consideration?"

"He's younger than you."

"I don't want to be treated any different," Near interrupted, causing both men to look at him. "We're in the running for the same position, after all."

After a moment's pause, L said, "Yes."

Mello groaned loudly, causing Near to look at him. Before the younger boy could say anything though, Mello got up from the bed and took L's wrist in his hand forcefully. L was surprised at the sudden contact and blinked owlishly as Mello dragged him through the room and down the small hallway, finally closing the door to the bathroom after he shoved L in and then walked in himself.

L stumbled back against the dingy porcelain sink, looking up at Mello with a passive expression if not slightly surprised. Mello glared at him and could see the side of his face in the mirror behind them. There was a moment of silence in which L only stared at Mello questioningly and finally, Mello shouted, "Matt, get the fuck away from this door!"

"Aw!" called a voice from the other side.

"I mean it!"

Then, the sound of feet shuffling away and Matt faintly saying to the rest of the party, "Guess there won't be any play-by-play after all…"

Mello rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to L. "Now listen here, you."

L quirked an eyebrow.

"I'm tired of seeing you flirting with Near. For fuck's sake, he's ten years younger than you! You stare at him when he gets undressed for the sessions, you even watch him when he's putting his clothes back on! You touch him for longer than necessary and completely ignore me! When we're in a session, it's 'get me this, Mello' or 'what do you think of that, Mello' and I'm so sick of being second place!"

L paused, considering this, and then leant back, his hands supporting him on the sink. "Mello, I'm not a priest and therefore am unsuitable for confession."

Mello blinked widely and then frowned, balling his fists at his sides. He had to have known that telling L his feelings would coerce no sympathy from the man. He was just a ball of biting sarcasm. The one that Mello would give anything to follow. "Y-You bastar-"

"However," L continued, eyes rolling upward in thought, "I'm not surprised. I just didn't think you would be so eager to tell me these things. You're rather stupid, I do believe."

"… _What_?" he screeched, horrified.

"You're not in second place," L said, looking back at him.

Mello stopped, staring ahead. When he was searching for words to say, one question out of the million that were racing through his mind, L took a step forward and grabbed him by the forearms, switching their places and slamming him into the sink. Mello's eyes were wide in shock and confusion as his back connected with the porcelain. He groaned at the pain and his left eye twitched until he raised his head to look into L's obsidian eyes.

"You're not in second place," he repeated, his voice an octave lower.

Mello swallowed heavily, his eyelids beginning to feel as if weights were on them. "But…" he sighed. "You called me stupid…"

L ignored this. "I won't have you feeling inferior to Near."

"One of us has to be the loser, though," Mello said, rolling his eyes.

"You're tied."

"How can we be-"

L tightened his grip on Mello's arms and quieted him that way. Mello looked up at him as L straightened out of his usual slouch and brought their faces mere inches apart. The weights on Mello's eyelids grew heavier and heavier as L leaned in, their foreheads coming into contact. Mello closed his eyes tightly and concentrated on his labored breathing in attempt to ease himself. He thought of Near back in the living room. But this warm feeling was rushing from L's hands down to Mello's and his fingers twitched.

The warmth was familiar like when he and Near weren't fighting and were just enjoying close proximity. As a faint blush rose in Mello's cheeks and he could feel L's breath on his face, he wished Near was standing right beside him and that he could apologize for being such an ass. Because if this nice feeling wasn't coursing through him, he didn't think he could be brave enough to admit that _he_ had done something wrong. Because bitch fit or no bitch fit, Near was still Near. And Mello… he…

L inhaled quickly and released Mello's arms, causing Mello to stumble forward for lack of support. The blond looked up, about to ask what the hell that was about but the door shut and he was alone.

"Wha… _L_!" Mello called in disbelief. He was truly a bastard.

Sighing, Mello slid down to the floor, sitting with his legs splayed out in front of him. The tingling of his hands was still on his arms. His head turned to the side where he saw the toilet there and faintly thought, _God, I have to piss._

-

**to be continued.**

-

A/N: _More next time, folks. Just got back from university customs so I'm way wiped out. I'm majoring in English Lit and my minor is Psychology for all those interested. I'm on my way to becoming a writer and I WILL be number one!_

_Review, yeah?_


	16. Twist

_A/N: __Hello… here's the chap… _

-

**Azure Paler than the Sky.**

**sixteen.**

"… _Heh heh. Hey there all you late-nighters! Matt here with the midnight radio show! Things were pretty interesting last time I came on the air in the dead of night so I thought doing it again would yield the same results. Besides, there's nothing better to do. Mel and Near are off on a session and everyone else is asleep, I think. _

"_See, here's the thing. I've been brainstorming a lot lately and I think I'm going to sponsor an event for nudists. Really, in my photography class, we're about to move on to the human form. Only the thing is, we can't use super-model types. We have to use plain people or preferably obese people. Something about the beauty of the human body without fixtures or makeup. _

"_Whatever, sounds cool to me. I like being naked. I'm naked right now! … Ha, just kidding. Or am I? … Anyway, please call me here at the studio if you're interested in being a model for me. Or if you're a nudist. The number is 555-MATT. … Oh, a caller! Hello, you're on the air!"_

"_Hey, Matt… uh, this is Lisa…"_

"_Hi, Lisa! Wow, using your real name, that's brave. What's the word, chick? Are you a nudist?"_

"_Uh, well, you see… I just want to pose for you."_

"_Really? Great! So, are you fat? Abundance of cellulite?"_

"_Ummm. Well…"_

"_I'll take that as a yes. Meet me at the photography room tomorrow after my radio broadcast. Eat some pumpkin pie tonight. Later!"_

"_But-"_

"_All right, let's go to the next caller. This is going great, I already have one subject. Hello, you're on the air!"_

"_Yo, Matt!"_

"_Hey, dude, what's up? What's your name?"_

"_I'm Jay. Anyways, I'm kind of a hefty guy from the sculpture section but, like you, I really like being naked. So for this upcoming Christmas break, I thought I'd take my girlfriend to Sagging Pines."_

"… _Sagging Pines. Why does that sound so… familiar…"_

"_It's the nudist colony for old folks a few miles from here."_

"… _Wow. Why there?"_

"_Because I'm so big, I figure, if I surround myself with old people in the buff, I'll feel better about myself and my girlfriend will be more attracted to me."_

"_Uh. Dude, we need to talk. First off, comparing yourself to naked octogenarians doesn't sound like a great way to gain self-esteem. Also, why would that turn on your girl? If anything, she'll be sick the whole trip."_

"…"

"… _Aw, dude, don't cry. I-It's okay. I mean, uh, I'm sure your girlfriend is just fine with how you look. You don't need naked old men to be attractive to her."_

"_R-Really?"_

"_Really!"_

"_I can be loved the way I-I am…?"_

"_Of course, dude!"_

"_Do you love me…?"_

"… _Uh. Well sure… you're nice… uh…"_

"_I love you too, man!"_

"_Well… well, great…"_

-

_He looks gorgeous_, Mello thought as he watched Near sitting in the moonlight from where he was at the table. He still had a few assignments to make up and worked on the charcoal drawings distractedly. When he looked up through his bangs, letting his hands wander on their own across the coarse paper, his eyes darted from Near to L. Sitting there like that with his legs spread apart and his head lolled to the side, Near seemed confident in a way Mello hadn't seen before.

Always, always Mello has thought that Near was one of the most beautiful things on the planet but he had had a tinkling feeling that Near didn't feel that way about himself at all. It showed in everything he did, the way he walked with his head down or avoided eye contact with anyone he wasn't already friendly with. Even when he wasn't in pajamas, he wore long baggy jeans and big t-shirts.

And it was crazy to see Near sitting like that, looking actually confident in his sensuality. Way crazy, Mello thought because he really never thought he'd see the day. At first, L had had to coerce Near into taking his clothes off in the beginning of every session, eating up about fifteen minutes. But over the course of time, Near had slowly gotten accustomed to it. Maybe it had finally clicked in his head that he wasn't in front of an audience of judges all waiting to critique his body. It was just Mello and L. And they were really…

Really close.

"Are you almost finished, Mello?" L asked, not taking his eyes away from Near. His hand moved furiously on the canvas, making minute strokes with the brush.

Mello looked up from the paper under his hand and then looked back down. "Uh… sure," he answered, not even sure where he was going with the drawing. It all seemed like parts of scenes pieced together. Maybe like something from Picasso.

"Come over here for a moment."

Mello got up from his seat and walked over to the canvas, standing beside the stool where L sat. He looked at the canvas and then over it where Near sat, his eyes like he was staring at an imaginary castle far away. When Mello looked back down he saw almost the same thing, of course only half finished. Mello's eyes zeroed in on Near's face created by paints. It was interesting to him how Near's face was detailed but with the absence of eyes. It made him seem like a lifeless doll as he hung there, draped over the chair.

"Where's the moon?" Mello asked, scanning the subject. In life, the moon which flooded light into the room, was small and barely visible through the window but it was there and Mello knew L would never skip out on such an obvious detail.

"Ah," L said, smirking, "that's why I've neglected the eyes thus far."

"… the eyes?"

"Yes. Don't you think so?"

"Think so of what?"

L blinked and then rubbed at one of his eyes with his fist. "Forgive me," he mumbled, "I haven't slept in days and it's catching up with me… Don't you agree that Near's eyes are like the moon?"

"Oh…" Mello looked at him and then the painting. He thought about it for a second and before he could respond, both he and L heard a sound from the other side of the room. Each man looked over the side of the canvas to find Near restraining a yawn, his hands pulled up to cover his mouth. His eyes were closed tight and when he had stopped yawning, his hands slowly came to rest in his bare lap. He looked over where two pairs of eyes were staring at him and he blushed, flustered.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I moved," he muttered, twisting about to reseat himself properly. When he glanced back at the canvas, L was standing, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

He was walking forward and said to Mello, "Grab his robe, would you?"

Mello went over to the table to get the white terrycloth robe that Near used in between breaks of session. It was too cold to be naked all the time in November. L was surprised that Near held up as well as he did and sometimes, briefly, he wondered if he was ever going to get sick but that wasn't a pleasant thing to think about. He came over to the chair where Near had, sensing that the session was breaking or ending, loosened up and closed his legs, sandwiching his hands between his thighs.

"Here," Mello said, having joined them and handed Near the robe. Near nodded in thanks and looked downward as he put his arms through the sleeves and wrapped it around himself.

He looked up again, at L, and said, "Are we done for tonight?"

"I think so," he hummed distractedly. There was something in his eyes - some spark of interest - and he reached one hand out of his jean pocket and touched Near's forehead, pushing his bangs aside.

Near blinked.

"You're warm," L said. Mello watched as L's hand moved down from Near's forehead, trailing down his pale neck and to his chest. He planted his long, spidery hand there over his heart. Near blushed a little but held L's gaze as the older man smiled. "I'm glad you're not sick."

"I-It's not that cold in here…"

Mello raised an eyebrow at their professor. "If you were really worried, you wouldn't have him nude in wintertime."

"The first snow hasn't fallen yet."

"And what about when it does?"

"We can get a heater for the room."

"Comforting," Mello groaned and rolled his eyes. L ignored him and took one of his hands, placing it on Near's chest where his had been. Near and Mello gasped in unison and when Mello looked at L like, _what the hell are you doing?_ L placed his hand over Mello's.

"See?" L asked. "He's just fine."

Mello paused and then looked back at Near. He let himself relax a little then and kept his hand there. Near's chest rose and fell, rose and fell, and his cheeks reddened at all the attention. But it was relaxing. The three of them just… touching. It wasn't until Near closed his eyes and relaxed against their hands that he thought absently, _My heart is beating so fast._

-

It was around eleven the next morning when Matsuda went walking through the halls of the sculpture building, his books clutched to his chest. As he walked down the corridor, he glanced out of the windows to his left, watching as the last of the dried up leaves fell from the trees. The lawns of Irai were now all but bare and the passing winds shook the naked branches.

Matsuda smiled and looked ahead, navigating through the moving crowd. He had yet to really talk to Raito about their date or about that kiss… really, Matsuda had never planned on doing such a thing and he blushed every time he thought about it. But it really couldn't have been helped. He couldn't just let Raito leave with a goodnight until the next time they saw each other. There was a raw, screaming need inside of him that begged for Matsuda to just lean in, just a little bit, and show Raito how much he…

But then again, it was so quick. Just a fleeting touch of the lips. And the tingling feeling where Matsuda had cupped Raito's cheek, that never left and was there on his hand as he held his books. It just wasn't enough. Being with Raito was amazing, just walking beside him that night was enough to make Matsuda happy, but still, he wanted more. He supposed he could always ask Raito out again. What would be the worst he could say, anyway?

No?

No wasn't so bad, Matsuda lied to himself. As he rounded the corner, he thought, _There's probably no way I'll be able to talk to Raito during class. I was too nervous the other night… maybe after class when we're out of Mikami's sight, I can ask. _

Upon coming into the classroom, Matsuda was greeted with the sight of Raito and the professor standing in the middle of the room in front of Raito's usual seat. Behind that, the rest of the class was sitting, apparently eavesdropping on what the two were whispering to each other. Matsuda blinked and stepped into the room, causing everyone to look at him.

"Um…" He looked up at Mikami. "Am I late?"

"Ah, there you are," Mikami said stiffly and began to turn to Matsuda when Raito's hand fell onto his forearm.

He whispered harshly into the man's ear, "You promised."

"Yes, of course, beautiful," Mikami returned. He addressed Matsuda, "You're not late. Just take a seat."

Matsuda brightened. "Okay," he chirped and went to sit next to Raito. When he sat his books down on the table and pulled out his chair, he noticed that Mikami had wrapped his arms around Raito's narrow waist and pulled him closer. Matsuda looked up, blinking, just when Mikami pushed into Raito, capturing his lips. He put his hand lightly on the back of Raito's head so as to not let him escape.

Matsuda gaped. "W-W-W-"

Other students stopped their chit-chatting and looked towards their teacher and fellow student engaging in a make-out session.

"I _knew_ it," shouted a student in the back, "I wrote to Matt about it!"

Everyone else made noises of concurrence.

Raito finally managed to pull away, gasping for breath. He whirled his head around to find the class all eyes and sighed, frowning up at Mikami. "Yeah, that was a real mature thing to do, Teru."

"I'm sorry, princess-"

"Don't call me that in public!"

"If it will make you happy, I will start class now," he said and walked behind his desk as Raito huffed and went to sit down. Mikami pointed to the board, "All right, everyone, last time, we concentrated on form-"

"Aw, what? You just got done molesting a student and now you're going to start class?" a student asked, upset.

"Do you want to stay after class?"

"… No, sir…"

"Good. Then be silent and take notes."

"… Yes, sir…"

Mikami turned his back on the class and began writing on the board, things that would be on the midterm.

Raito was sitting at his desk, his eyes turned rigidly to the board where Mikami was writing. He didn't want to look at Matsuda. He didn't want to see a possibly hurt expression on that once eager face and know that he was the cause of it. Because really, Raito was never going to tell Mikami about the kiss. But the teacher had heard about it from Takada who had in turn heard about it from Misa who had hear it from L. Raito hated the chain of gossip at this school and wanted to put an end to it.

Just before he could decide whether he wanted to glance over in Matsuda's general direction, he felt something at his arm. He blinked and looked down by his elbow where a piece of paper was slid across the desk to him. He looked at Matsuda, whose head was bowed over his notebook as he copied the notes from the board.

Raito took it and unfolded it.

_Don't worry about it, Raito, I don't mind_, it said. Raito sighed and looked over at him once again. What a bad liar Matsuda was. Raito wrote something back and passed it again.

_I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to happen. He heard about how you kissed me and now he's upset about it. It'll pass. So don't worry, okay?_

Matsuda wrote, _Okay… hey, Raito… would you go out with me again anytime…?_

Raito stared at the paper for a long time, his pencil in hand. How to respond? He had promise Mikami that it would only be a onetime thing… still…

"Passing notes again, hmm?"

Raito looked up, gasping at Mikami standing there, arms folded across his chest. He gingerly took the paper from Raito's grasp and looked over at Matsuda, frowning. "Why do you insist on interrupting Raito's studies? Honestly, do I need to put the dunce ribbon on you again?"

"I-I wasn-"

"No, I suppose that is too easy a punishment. Matsuda, take the water buckets and stand outside for the rest of class."

Matsuda groaned.

Raito frowned and argued, "Teru, he'll miss the review if you send him out there."

"Then he should not have disrupted class. Matsuda, out," he said, pointing to the door.

Matsuda slowly got up, feeling dejected, and walked over to the door where two large water buckets were filled to the rim. He picked them up, one in each hand, with a large grunt and then walked out of the door, shutting it behind him with his heel.

Matsuda stood with his back up against the wall, looking out onto the scene of the barren hallway. The windows were fogged up with the cold from the outside and the heater working inside. He sighed and adjusted his arms. A whole _hour _of holding these things? He wouldn't be able to move his arms for the next week.

Then, the sound of shoes clicking against the floor down the corridor. Matsuda blinked and stretched his neck in that direction. Coming up the hall was a figure dressed in black leather with blond hair swishing just over the figure's shoulders. Matsuda brightened at once and shouted, "Mello! Hey, what's up!"

Mello blinked, looking in his direction and sped up his walking. "Hey, there you are," he said as he approached him, "I was just coming to find you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I almost got lost, I don't come here that often… so, let's go. You've got that appointment on Matt's show today."

"What… oh my gosh! I'm… that's right, I totally forgot!"

"That's why I came _to get you_. … What're those buckets for?"

"I'm on punishment…" Matsuda glanced down, eyebrows furrowing. "I can't leave here…"

"What'd you do?"

"Pass a note to Raito… So Mikami sent me out here…"

Mello raised an eyebrow. "I see." He reached out and took both buckets from Matsuda's grasp, throwing them on the floor, the water splashing all over the linoleum.

"M-Mello-"

"Come on, Matsuda." He grabbed his hand and went for the door to the classroom.

"But the buckets-"

"Matsuda, I said come on!"

With that, the door shut behind both of them loudly, causing a disruption in the classroom they had just entered. Mikami looked over from the board, startled and Raito's eyes widened.

"Mello?" he asked. "What're you doing here?"

"Dealing with random shit," he muttered and then looked at the professor. "Are you Mikami?"

"I am and who are you?"

"I'm Mello and I'm taking this guy with me. If you've got a problem with it, bite me."

Mikami turned around to face him. "You can't just barge in here and steal a student-"

"Fucking hell, he wasn't learning anything out there to begin with!"

"That's not-"

Raito sighed, placing his chin in his hand. "Let Mello take him. He's obviously not in a good mood."

Mikami frowned.

"Damn straight I'm not. Let's go, Matsuda."

Just as Matsuda was being pushed out of the door, he waved to Raito enthusiastically, calling, "See you later!"

-

"_It's the noon-hour radio show! It's me, Matt, with our special guest for the day, Matsuda-"_

"_Hi, everyone, hello! Wow, this is so cool! I can't believe I'm actually here, everything is so high-tech and Matt is in his underwear! I'm so lucky, thank you so much for inviting me, Matt!"_

"… _Wow. You're my most enthusiastic guest yet. A real change of pace."_

"_Yes!"_

"_Well, do you want to get to the postcards now? Here you go."_

"_Okay! First one reads: __Dear Matt, ever think of having a late night sex hour? Signed, Queen of Hearts. … Um… Matt, don't you have one of those?"_

"_Well sort of - wait, how'd you know about that?"_

"_Uh, well, you see, I have a radio in my room and I'm a really big fan so I listen in…"_

"_How come you've never called?"_

"_Oh, I could never do anything like that…"_

"… _You know… you don't have to masturbate on the phone."_

"…"

"_Next postcard! I'll read. Says: Hey Matt, are you bisexual or totally homosexual? And what about Mello and Near? I mean ... you should know right? Signed, Curious Fangirl. … um, okay. Well, I'm homosexual. So is Mello. And I'm pretty sure Near is too… if he were ever into girls, that'd be wild… Matsuda? Are you blushing?"_

"_Oh… no…"_

"_What about you? Are you bi or gay?"_

"_Oh, Matt!"_

"_Don't be shy! We're all friends here, right?"_

"_Well, I… I don't have very much experience in these things, I guess… um… jeepers… I guess I might be homosexual…"_

"_Guess, huh?"_

"_Oh, Matt, it's not funny!"_

"_Of course not… nope…"_

-

**to be continued.**

-

A/N: _Woo-hoo! I just got accepted into an apartment. I shall be moving out! Wish me luck! Oh, and thoughts, please!_


	17. Rolemodel

_A/N: __Thanks for the reviews. By the way, please go to my profile soon and vote on the poll, okay? I keep forgetting to tell people about that…_

-

**Azure Paler than the Sky.**

**seventeen.**

"I can tell you a secret, can't I?"

Matt looked up from where he had been pulling down his jeans. He had gotten in that night around two in the morning, about half an hour after Mello got in from his session with L and Near. When Matt walked in, he was rather surprised to see Mello sitting on the edge of the bed in nothing but Matt's boxers, a half-eaten bar of chocolate hanging out of his mouth. Immediately, Matt knew something must've been up and was worried because Mello might've been trying to figure out the meaning of the universe again. Whenever he tried that, though, it always got to be too much for dear Mel and he grew depressed for weeks.

As Matt soon found out, though, it was nothing of the sort. He smirked at the confession of wanting to share a secret. After pushing down his jeans and throwing his shirt in some random direction, he pulled his goggles down around his neck and climbed into bed beside Mello who had finally laid down.

"'Course, Mel!" He nodded at the blond, his smirk still hanging there. "You know I'm the best secret-keeper there is-"

"Oh, don't start that shit! You're the one who told Near we kissed. You have to promise me you won't go telling anyone. Not Near, not Matsuda and none of the nosy-ass teachers here."

Matt pursed his lips and let out a sigh. He raised his hand in the air, pinky extended. Mello reached up and lace their pinkies together.

"Pinky-promise."

"Pinky-promise."

"Okay," Matt said, letting their hands fall back to the mattress with a soft thud and a bounce of the springs, "so what have you gotten yourself into this time?"

Mello sighed. "It's just… okay, you know I love Near, right?"

"Of course I do, honeybunch."

"Shut up. Well, okay, we've been fighting… but now it just seems so stupid to me. I miss him. I really do, but at the same time, I think… I've just been thinking about L a lot lately. Heh," Mello laughed half-heartedly and turned over in bed, facing the wall. "Actually… I think I…"

Matt waited for Mello to continue but when he didn't, Matt prompted, "You think…?"

"Ah, God, I can't fucking _say_ it!"

"Mel, come on, dude, who am I?"

Mello groaned.

Matt insisted, "Tell me who I am, Mel."

"… you're my best friend," Mello grumbled, turning his head into the pillow. After a moment's worth of sulking and twisting in his own mind, he lifted his head from the fabric and said, "It's fucking insane. I mean, for God's sake, L is the creepiest perv I know. He walks around barefoot, watching _everyone_ obsessively, he's fucking snarky twenty-four-seven. He looks like a fucking peeping tom. All he's got is his talent as an artist. He teases me, he knows exactly how to get to me… He…"

Matt looked at his back for a moment and then said, ticking it off on his finger, "He's sexy."

"That is SO not what I need to hear right now," Mello shouted, whipping his head around.

Matt laughed and put a hand on Mello's head to ruffle his hair. "S'okay, Mel. I've always known about your cute crush on L."

"Stop that, it is not cute, it's a fucking problem! A catastrophe - it's catastrophic!"

"Why?"

"What the fuck? What do you mean, why? What am I going to do, apologize to Near for being such an ass and ignoring him and then tell him I think I'm in love with our professor? That I might've _always_ felt this way? And L chooses _now_ to pay me any attention… Fuck him! You know, he flirts around with Near too! But… it's just that lately when he does it… I couldn't care less…"

"What do you mean?"

"When he touches Near," Mello said, softening, "it doesn't make me mad."

"Did it use to?"

"… I use to be jealous." Mello paused for a moment and then closed his eyes tightly. "I love Near, okay?"

"Jeez, you don't need to try to convince me! I know you do, okay, Mel? It doesn't matter if you like L-"

"I don't like L! I hate him! He's a jackass."

Matt blinked. "But you just said-"

"I lied, all I need is Near." Mello huffed and wiggled deeper into the covers and only a tuft of blond hair was sticking out.

Matt looked at him for a moment and then sighed, looking up at the ceiling. There was nothing but breathing then for a few minutes and Matt finally said, "You're going about this the wrong way. You're just going to make yourself unhappy."

Mello said nothing, only pulled the cover tighter.

"Our hearts have a lot of room in them, y'know… so, like, for you to try to make one person fill it all up… that's a lot of work for them. You should try letting other people fill it up too, Mel. You'd be a lot happier."

There was a pause and then Mello pulled the cover down from his face and glanced back at Matt. But he had turned around and pulled the cover up over his own head.

"Night, Mel."

-

The next day, Near's breath could be seen puffing out in white clouds in front of his face as he sped-shuffled down the hallways. He had just come from the outside into the photography building. The sky was darkening and it was freezing outside, the ground seemingly frozen. But still, the sky wouldn't give up the snow, it continued to taunt campus with the prospect and keep everyone on their toes.

Near walked down the hallway, his sneakers squeaking against the just-mopped linoleum. Some students walked past him, a few Senior girls who cooed at how cute he looked in his large white hoodie that said in light blue letters, _Blooper_. Matt had purchased it for him during the summer in anticipation for the upcoming winter and Near was very grateful for it. Even though it garnered a lot of attention that he could have done without.

He rounded the corner and came to room 16. There was some talking heard from inside and Near raised his fist to knock gingerly. He stood there expectantly, face raised to whomever would open the door. But after a few minutes with no answer, he guessed no one had heard him. He knocked again, louder, and the door immediately opened, scaring the daylights out of Near.

"Hey, who's out here makin' all that ra - oh…" An older student peered down at Near standing there, pale-faced. He smiled. "Hey there, child. Are you on a tour here? Get lost?"

Near puffed out his cheeks indignantly. "No, I am a Junior here," he said.

"Wow, really?"

"Yes, really. Now… may I please speak to Matt? He has this class period, doesn't he?"

"Oh, Matt? Yeah, he's here…" He opened the door wider so Near could enter. Near shuffled in, placing his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. Inside, it was a large room with concrete on the floor instead of tiling and it was almost as cold in there as it was outside. Near shivered and looked around as students lounged around on furniture and held joints or cigarettes in their hands on in between their lips. The room itself was filled with smoke.

Near coughed delicately.

"Oh, sorry about the smoke, little dude," his guide said, shrugging, "but us photography students like to relax."

"W-Where's the teacher?" Near asked, squinting at the name of 'little dude.'

"I'unno. Somewhere. Anyway, Matt is in one of the modeling rooms. Uh… number 3, I think. Let's check." He walked over to one of four doors with the bronze letter three on the front. He opened the door, peeking in. He looked back at Near, grinning and waving him over. Near trotted over, fanning the smoke away from his face. He walked into the room as prompted by the older student as the boy called inside, "Matt, this little dude wants to see you!"

"I'm busy! … S'it some kid in white?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Oh, that's Near. Send 'em in."

"'Kay. You're clear, little dude," he said and scooted Near in, shutting the door behind him.

Near turned around, sighing, "Matt, there - oh my…!" Near turned back around quickly, blushing, with his hands covering his mouth.

"Near? Hey, kiddo, what's the word? I've never had you come see me in class before," Matt said, continuing to operate his camera and move around the room. The subject Matt was using was splayed out on a large white sheet in front of a white drape. She was a rather large girl, around maybe three hundred pounds, all bare flesh and fresh red hair. She was freckled all down her body and had her hands covering her breasts and her legs crossed.

Matt looked up from her for a second at Near as he shook in the corner. "… Near? You need something?"

"Y-You're busy, I'll come back later-"

"No, man, come here, it's okay. I'm just working. Look, Lisa doesn't mind you watching, do you, Lisa?"

"Actually-"

"See, Lisa doesn't mind. Near, come here."

Near let out a shuddering breath and turned around, keeping his eyes focused on Matt. He walked forward until he was standing beside his friend and Matt smiled at him, dipping his head until he was looking through the lens again. "So," he said and there was the sound of the shutter closing and opening rapidly, "what brings you here?"

"I-I just wanted to talk to you… but… I would really appreciate it if you said nothing to Mello-"

"Or Matsuda or any of the nosy teachers here. Right?"

"… Right…" Near cocked his head to the side curiously and Matt laughed, reaching out a hand to pat him on the head. Near continued, "Um, anyway, it's sort of about Mello… no, well, it's more about L…"

"What about 'em?"

"I… miss Mello," he admitted, turning his head to the side.

"Do you now?" Matt asked and took a few more steps closer to Lisa. "That a girl, keep those legs crossed. Only need one set of lips showing."

Near blushed thoroughly and continued, "It's just that… even though I love Mello… I've been thinking about other things lately… L, actually. I try not to but I… I like him, I think. I've always admired him as a painter and a mentor but I just… now, I just…"

"Just what?"

"Just now, it's different. I feel different. And awful because this has nothing to do with Mello… even though he has been quite unreasonable lately and we've fought, I can't help but still love him… Um… this doesn't make any sense…"

"Sure as hell doesn't," Matt laughed, straightening. "Why're you sweating this so much? You know, some people would say it's natural to - oops, hold that thought."

Matt turned around and went to the back of the room where there was a small refrigerator. He bent down and opened it up, grabbing a slice of cake on a plate out of it. He shut the door with the heel of his boot and walked back over, putting the plate on Lisa's stomach. She blinked at it.

"Break time," he announced and pulled a carton of Marlboros out of his back pocket. He slid a cigarette into his mouth and pulled a lighter out of his other pocket. As he lit it, he regarded Near's miserable expression. "Aw, come on, Near. Don't look at me like that."

"I am malcontented."

Matt snorted a laugh.

"It is not funny," Near concluded, looking downward. "L is indeed wonderful. I like him very much. But I do not want to jeopardize my relationship with Mello by making it known. I care for him too much and don't want to lose him to gain something uncertain."

"Who says it's uncertain?"

"L is a teacher."

"Since when has that been a big problem?"

Near shook his head. "I'm not you, Matt. I couldn't see myself… "

Matt exhaled a large puff of smoke and frowned. _Jesus, Mel… why'd I have to go and make a fucking pinky-promise… I could fix this! I know I could! Ugh, why's everything so complicated? _

"Mello," Matt mumbled, inhaling.

Near looked up. "What was that?"

Matt blinked down at him. He exhaled. "Nothing, just thinking about Mel. You won't lose him, okay?"

Near nodded. "I know I won't. Because I am going to ignore L's advances… or, rather… cut them off all together."

"Right, I - wait, what? Near!" Matt looked to his right and Near was at the door, throwing it open and as quickly as he had walked over there, he was gone. Matt furrowed his brow, frustrated. "Aw, Jesus! _Why_ does no one listen to me, huh? Lisa, _why_?"

"Maybe it's because-"

"I swear, no one appreciates good, brotherly advice anymore."

Lisa groaned.

-

Raito sighed as he sat on the big, plush couch in Mikami's living room area. Afternoon was turning into dusk outside but it wasn't that easy to tell without a clock. It had been dark all day and Raito had spent a good half of the day in Mikami's apartment, arguing with him but to no avail. It wasn't the average argument anyway. Every time Raito would state a point, Mikami would sympathize and tell Raito in some obscure way that he was right, while at the same time, he maintained his own stand point. Raito felt like a puppy chasing its tail.

"I'm just saying, be nicer to him. He's done nothing wrong, he is a kind person and you should be ashamed to treat a student with bias. As a professor, it's your responsibility to stay out of student affairs unless asked for help," Raito preached, "and I do not remember asking for assistance."

Mikami sat down beside him, putting his arm around the brunet. "I know, princess, and I apologize for being crude to your friend. But you must know how I feel about you by now and what he did was inexcusable."

"It was a tiny kiss, it was barely a second long. It was basically a 'goodnight' in physical form."

"A handshake could have sufficed."

"I'm sure you would have found something wrong with that," Raito huffed, folding his arms over his chest.

Mikami smirked and nuzzled the side of Raito's neck affectionately. "You know me so well, princess…"

Raito frowned and gasped, recoiling when Mikami began a love bite on the side of Raito's neck. Raito scooted away until he was pressed up against the armrest. "I am most certainly not in that sort of mood, Teru. You don't make such a fuss when other students pass notes in class."

"Those students actually do well on the tests and quizzes and their projects come out looking like something worthwhile."

"That's not fair. He tries."

"Why doesn't he switch to the culinary department?" Mikami asked, sighing and placing his arm over the back of the couch. "As much as everyone raves about his cooking, he would be best suited for that."

Raito nodded. "I know that but he says sculpture is his passion."

Mikami rolled his eyes. "What a waste of a good cruise line chef."

There was a pause and then Raito turned his head to the side, a small snickering sound emitted. Mikami grinned and, sensing an opening, slid back over to Raito, replacing his arm around the man. When Raito turned back around, their noses were two inches apart and Mikami wore a lose smirk on his lips. He leaned in and placed a kiss on Raito's lips, pulling back for a second and then going back in, pushing Raito back into the couch cushion.

Raito sighed into the kiss and let Mikami lean into him. What Raito had been noticing about Mikami lately was that he liked it when Raito was the dominant one. Raito thought it odd for a man who was so imposing in every other thing to be submissive to him. As he was kissed and hands moved around his waist, tugging at the hem of his shirt, Raito thought that maybe - just maybe - L had been right about the whole masochist thing.

But, when he truly thought about it, Matsuda himself had been pretty eager to take the lead when surprising Raito with that kiss. Suddenly, Raito pulled away from Mikami and put a hand to the man's chest.

"I'm… just not in the mood right now."

Mikami leant back, a faltering smile on his face. "Would you rather do something else? It's still very early-"

"Actually, I still have some homework left from your class," Raito said, getting up from the couch with a wink. "I should get to it."

"You know you don't have to worry about that."

"I'm an ex-teacher so I get special treatment. Doesn't sound fair." Raito was heading for the door. Mikami started to get up after him but instead he plopped back down on the couch and sighed, waving after Raito.

Raito waved and left, closing the door gingerly behind him.

He sighed when his back was against the door and looked to the ceiling as if it would provide guidance. It neglected to do so and Raito began walking down the hallway, wondering what he would do with himself for the rest of the night.

_I could always go to Matsuda's apartment… maybe I could help him with his homework since he didn't get the notes yesterday… Would he take that as a come-on, though? Agh, I doubt he would notice me hitting on him even if I threw him to a mattress. But technically, I'm with Mikami so wouldn't going over seem… whorish? Even though he's just a friend. And we only had one date. And it was just one kiss… just-_

"OW!"

Raito bumped into something hard and went stumbling back a few steps, his hand instinctively flying up to cradle his bruised forehead. When Raito looked up through blurred vision, he saw L standing there with a small bruise on his forehead as well.

"_Lawliet_," Raito moaned, lowering his hand. "What're you doing?"

"Well… I was walking. And you crashed into me. I think I am owed an apology."

"You must've not been looking where you were going," Raito accused, not bothering to share any of the blame. He shook away the rest of the fuzziness from his vision and then sighed, motioning towards L's person. "What're you doing here, anyway?"

"I have walked around the campus about five times."

"… The entire campus?"

"Yes."

"What _for_?"

"I have been thinking," he said, starting off down the stairs. Raito followed, falling into step with him. "And I've also been waiting for it to snow. It sure does look like it will soon."

Raito hummed, "I guess so… but what've you been thinking of?" He laughed. "What, did the cafeteria run out of strawberry shortcake?"

L shook his head. "No, actually, I've been considering suicide."

Raito froze, mouth agape. "W-Wh-"

"I kid," L said, looking over his shoulder with a smile.

"Lawliet! You… you can't joke about a thing like that! That's _not _funny," Raito raged, catching up with him. He was red in the face and his mannerisms were as if he was about to pound childishly on L's shoulder. L only smirked at him and Raito frowned but dropped it and instead said, "Well, what _is_ the problem then?"

"I think my plan regarding Near and Mello has gone horribly awry…" L moped, frowning at the ground.

Raito looked at him. "No shit."

L blinked.

"I told you it would never work. What were you trying to accomplish anyway? They would've made up on their own sooner or later but you just had to butt in and look at you, you're a sighing mess."

"What's that mean?"

Raito shook the hair out of his eyes arrogantly. "You've got a thing for both of them, don't you?"

L glanced over at him and then returned his gaze to the ground. "Raito, I think I'm a pervert," he said seriously.

"And you're just now noticing?"

"That is not funny."

"Neither are jokes about _suicide_!"

"All right, all right," he yawned.

Raito took a minute before sighing, glancing toward the ceiling. Where were those answers? "You're not a pervert, Lawliet. Mello is a grown man… okay, maybe the Near thing is kind of perverted. He looks like he's eleven."

L fought back a smirk. "He is quite mature."

Raito groaned, shutting his eyes. "I don't want to hear that! Listen, this is something that has to be resolved between the three of you. It's not going to go away so it has to be dealt with."

"I agree."

"Good," Raito said, nodding. "Now, let's go to the cafeteria."

L smiled. "You think they're out of strawberry shortcake?"

"I doubt it."

-

At eight o' clock that night, students gathered in L's advanced painting class. Most of them were tired from a day of classes or had just woken up from a nap before the class but Mello was completely revved up and sat in front of his easel with great anticipation, waiting for Near to walk through the door and sit beside him. Throughout all their fighting, in L's class, they had never strayed to sit apart. They simply acted as if the other wasn't right beside them.

Mello was tapping his foot impatiently on the ground which was annoying some people sitting in close proximity. Mello already had what he wanted to say planned out. He looked towards the door, right through L, and waited. He had been attempting to give L as little attention as possible - don't ask for candy, don't tease him, don't get into squabbles, don't flirt…

It was a long list and it boiled down to "don't talk."

In a moment, Near shuffled in, the hood of his coat on. He shook his head and it fell off and around his neck. Mello refrained from jumping off of his stool as Near crossed the tiles.

"Hello, Near," L offered, watching him.

"Hello," Near answered, continuing to his seat. He sat himself down and glanced up at Mello, surprised when the blond was looking down at him as well. Near mumbled, "Hello, Me-"

"I'm sorry," he interrupted.

Near blinked. "Excuse me-"

"I'm sorry, all right? I didn't mean to be an asshole and not tell you about Matt and… what I told Raito… I'm really sorry. Don't be mad anymore because I miss you." He'd said it all practically in one breath. Practicing that to a picture of Near pinned up on his bathroom mirror was about the same as the real Near was quiet, too.

Near blinked a few times and his expression softened, his breath warming his slightly pink nose from the cold, "I'm sorry, too. That I kissed a stuffed rabbit." He smirked a bit.

Mello raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Well… you know."

Class started soon after that and L declared that partners needed to be found. Mello and Near were immediately together, not needing words to be spoken and together they worked on their project, both trying to keep focus. But there was this funny thing. Something tingling over their shoulders and every once in a while, one of them would glance around and L would be at his stool, eating something, glancing back at them.

Mello would turn back around, huffing.

Near would sigh and feel a little sick inside.

L just continued to eat his candies, one by one, and by the end of class he had consumed twice his normal amount. After he had announced the next meeting time and dismissed everyone, the students moved in a cattle-like fashion towards the door. Mello and Near walked in the midst of them but, once at the door, Near stopped. He said, "I have to talk to L for a moment."

"Oh. Okay, uh, I'll wait out in the hallway." Mello walked out into the corridor, leaving Near at the threshold. He turned around and walked towards L's stool where the man was sitting, hunched over.

"Something to talk to me about?" he asked as Near walked around to face him.

Near nodded, eyes downcast.

L popped in another candy. "What is it?"

There was a pause and then, Near let out a breath. He'd been practicing in front of a mirror, too. "L," he said to the floor, "I-I just-"

"Please, don't be so shy. We're friends, aren't we?"

Near blinked and hesitated. After a moment, he managed to bring his head up. "L, I… I can't be your assistant anymore."

-

**to be continued.**

-

A/N: _Yep, I know, no radio show this chapter... will be some next time. Please tell me your thoughts. _


	18. Circumstance

_A/N: __Not much longer to go… -yawns- For those of you wondering, this story will NOT be the entire year. Haha, and also, I cannot PM people giving away plot. So... yeah. For those of you who wanted to know stuff, you'll just have to wait. X3_

-

**Azure Paler than the Sky.**

**eighteen.**

"… I had a feeling you might say that."

"It's nothing personal, I swear, I just-" Near stopped in mid-sentence, looking over towards the door. It had swung closed and through the small window into the hallway, a tuft of blond hair could be seen. Near glanced back at L, finding him concentrating hard on a lollipop that he had yet to put in his mouth. Near sighed, "I know I'm being selfish…"

L finally tucked the lollipop into his mouth. "What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"I mean you've worked so hard on it and I'm just jumping out. When I had wanted so badly to compete as your apprentice… but… Mello is much more suited for it. He is very eager."

"That's nice to say but it doesn't help much unless you two are twins."

"I'm sorry," he whispered, turning away.

Before he was able to take a step towards the door, L grabbed him by the wrist and stood beside him, turning the boy around to face him. Near made a small noise in the back of his throat as his chest connected with L's stomach and the warmth from L's hand spread up his arm. Near looked up, blushing as he met L's gaze.

_I wish I didn't have to stop working on your painting with you_, Near thought idly as he soaked in the attention, _it really is a lot of fun. Just you and Mello and me. But it's really only supposed to be Mello and me so I…_

"Near, is this really what you want?"

Near was shaken out of his thoughts then and sighed, closing his eyes and lowering his head and leaning into L's torso a bit. He inhaled, breathing in the scent of the man's shirt. Near had probably never been this close to L in the past year of knowing him but, he realized, that L smells a lot like one's living room couch would after ten years or so worth of use. It wasn't an unpleasant smell, it was just like coming home.

He clutched at the cloth of L's shirt with his fists and exhaled, finally, not noticing until then that L had wrapped his arms around Near's body. Near pulled out of his grasp and walked towards the door again, opening it suddenly, causing Mello to flail, having his support wrenched away from him.

"Jesus, Near!"

"S-Sorry," Near muttered, heading out into the hallway.

Mello blinked and looked back into the room. L was standing there by his stool, his hands shoved deep into his pockets, and eyes raised towards the florescent lighting above. Mello was about to say something but he heard the squeak of Near's shoes on the floor down the hall and whipped his head around quickly, running after him.

"Hey," he called, cupping his hands around his mouth, "wait just a minute!"

Near slowed a bit but didn't stop and looked up when Mello had caught up to him, skidding to a halt at his side with a confused expression. "Yes, Mello?"

"What went on in there?" he asked. "What's with all the sad atmosphere?"

"There's no sad atmosphere." Near continued down the corridor.

Mello walked beside him, frowning. "Hey, listen here, we're starting fresh, okay?" He put a hand on Near's shoulder, causing him to pause in mid-step. He glanced up at the blond, nodding slightly. Mello continued, "So no more secrets, okay? We'll tell each other everything."

Near blinked a few times and nodded again. "Okay."

"So? What'd he say?"

"… Hmm. Nothing. I just told him that I… I couldn't be his assistant anymore," Near murmured, turning away from the explosion that was about to occur.

"SAY WHAT?" Mello shouted, taking a step back. "What in fuck brought this on? Near, you can't just bail on us, we've spent a hell of a lot of time-"

"Mello, please don't yell," Near said, squinting. His arms were folded over his stomach tightly as if he had a tummy ache.

Mello blinked at his behavior and finally frowned deeply, trying to think of a better way to go about yelling at Near without yelling at him. He exhaled, calming himself and quelling the anger rising in him. "Near," he said calmly, "what's the matter? Didn't you like working with us? With L?"

"Of course…"

"Then why-"

"It has nothing to do with that, though… Think of it this way, Mello, now you're L's only choice for an apprentice. You've gotten what you wanted."

Mello looked completely offended. "That's not exactly high on my priority list right now, you know," he retorted. "I care about _you_; what happened between you and L? Did he-"

"It's not him. I… I just…" Near closed his eyes. "I don't want to be naked anymore."

There was silence.

Mello groaned, "Is that all?"

"What does that mean?"

"… Near," Mello said softly, smoothing some of the boy's hair out of his eyes, "you were doing so well. Why the sudden change? When you were sitting there, you seemed… really confident."

_It's because I was… _"Did I?" he asked listlessly.

"Yeah." _Oh fuck, now I'm going to be alone with L? This is insane… What if I… what if we… _"Come on, Near, don't cop out on us."

"Please respect my decision."

"You know, this really isn't like you-" Mello was cut off when Near pulled down on his jacket collar and met him in a kiss. Mello knew immediately this was just a way for Near to get Mello to shut up but hell, it was working and Mello really _had_ missed this. The way Near's lips were always so warm, no matter what the temperature outside. Their eyes slid shut and soon, Near didn't need to keep his hold on Mello's leather garments. His hands slid down the fabric and hung at his sides as Mello's tongue zipped along his bottom lip.

They stayed that way for a while, attempting to make up for past arguments through motions and sighs and fleeting touches on the cheek. That was, until a group of giggling girls walked by and one of them shouted, "Yeah, baby! Trigger that flag!"

Mello and Near snapped away from each other and Mello then moved to shoo the girls away with his colorful language.

-

"_This is the Irai noon-hour radio show and I'm Matt! Back again with my BFF and trusted housewife, Mello! This time, Mello promises not to destroy all of my equipment even if someone mistakes him for a two-dollar whore. Right, Mel?"_

"_Yeah, whatever."_

"_That a boy. Well, we've kinda been slacking on those postcards but we've got a big pile here today so we'll do our best. But first off, let's all give a big hand to Mello who finally got up off his high-horse and apologized to Near! Paradise is returning, folks."_

"_Jesus."_

"_So, Mel, how was that makeup sex? No, no need to tell me - I heard ALL about it."_

"_Matt, you ass-"_

"_Haha! Aw, come on, dude, if you seriously expect some privacy, you're gonna have to tell Near to bite a pillow or something."_

"_I ought to clock you."_

"_Here, you read the first one."_

"… _Dear Matt, what's the most awkward situation that you've ever been unfortunate enough to be a part of? If your parents found out, how? Signed, Andy… Heh heh, I know what this one is."_

"_Aw, someone had to go and ask that. Fine, I'm a man of character, I can-"_

"_When he was twelve, he was jacking off to a magazine in his parents' bathroom and they came in, kissing and shit."_

"_That was awful."_

"_Hell, you might've saved yourself from having a sibling."_

"… _Well, there's that. Next one: Dear Matt, what are your manly stats? Signed, Hitchhiker. … Ah, I get it. Well, dear listener, I happen to be a very impressive ten inches-"_

"_WHAT? Where the fuck are you hiding the other four inches?"_

The show was over in about forty-five more minutes and when Matt and Mello walked out of the studio that day, Mello stretched his arms over his head languorously and yawned a bit.

"Sleepy?" Matt asked, tilting his head towards the blond.

"No, actually… I didn't stay up too late. L didn't call me over for a session and I'm pretty sure it has to do with the fact that Near isn't coming anymore. Man, this really sucks…"

Matt sent a small glance Mello's way but it went unnoticed. He sighed under his breath. _Aw, Near, what'd you have to go and do that for? _he thought as Mello rambled on. _Why can't you just tell the two of them, for Christ's sake?_

"-and the worst part of it is that when L does call me back, it'll just be us two," he sighed, lowering his arms to his side.

"Heh, but you want that, don't you?"

"You asshole, I told you I don't like L. He's a humorless dick."

"Now you're just making up shit."

"Who's side are you on?"

"Yours, Mel," Matt announced, slinging an arm around Mello's shoulders and leaning his head against Mello's. "But when you're being an idiot, it's my job to tell you. And you're being an idiot!"

"Because I don't want to lose Near, I'm an idiot." Mello rolled his eyes.

Matt ignored this. "You know what I think?"

"Nope."

"I think maybe instead of talking to Near about it, like you're _scared_ to do, you could talk to L."

"… _What_?" Mello stopped and turned to look at Matt like he was crazy. "Do you know what you even said? Talk to L. Right, okay, just go up to him and tell him I could possibly… that I want to…"

"Well, you have to be able to say it first."

"Shut your damn mouth," Mello shouted in more of a whine than he meant. He glared at Matt's laughter. "I'm not doing it."

"Fine, don't listen to me."

"I won't."

"Okay."

"All right."

There was silence then as they walked down the halls. Matt still had his arm around Mello which the blond didn't mind and sent glares to anyone who looked like they did. When they got to the door at the end of the corridor, Mello raised his boot and kicked it open, causing the metal door to swing back against the brick wall outside. Mello hugged his jacket tighter and as the sidewalk parted ways, Mello took one direction and Matt stood at the mouth of the other.

"Hey, where're you going?" Mello asked, an eyebrow raised.

Matt jerked his thumb at the building behind him. "I promised Lisa I'd treat her to lunch."

Mello scrunched up his nose. "Isn't Lisa that hippo you've been dragging around campus?"

"Yup! See ya later, Mel."

Matt started off in his direction and Mello called, "See ya," after him. He stood there for a moment and looked around him before muttering, "How can it be so fucking cold with no snow?"

-

More than a week passed and no matter how hard Mello tried to get Near to change his mind, nothing worked. Near was tight-lipped on the subject too which only fed Mello's suspicion. He would've sworn on all that was leather that Near had loved the attention given to him by L. He certainly had basked in it when L touched him, when he dragged his pale hands down Near's equally pale chest, the boy's eyelids would flutter and his body would tense.

Mello had to admit… thinking about L touching Near like that was pretty interesting. When the two of them saw L in class, L giving instructions and Near trying his best to ignore the professor, Mello wondered what in hell could have happened. He caught L's gaze sometimes right as the man was looking away from the two of them and Mello found a strange emotion there.

One day during class, L got up from his stool on a rare occasion to give a demonstration. He turned back around just as Mello and Near had pulled apart from a kiss, they caught him staring. Mello swallowed over a large lump in his throat and Near's cheeks reddened as his gray eyes scanned L.

The room was quiet as L had stopped in mid-sentence. The three of them looked at each other and out of the corner of their eye, Mello and Near watched each other's expressions. God, if only-

"Is it just me," a student called out, interrupting the moment, "or is there advanced sexual tension in this classroom?"

L looked at him sharply. "Perhaps you would like to illustrate _your_ sexual experiences on canvas."

"N-No, sir…"

"I didn't think so."

Unfortunately for others on campus, their love lives, instead of flourishing or wavering were coming to a halt altogether. Such as Mikami's. Where he was once catching Raito's mischievous side in its most riled moments up against darkened hallway walls, he was now having trouble even getting Raito to his apartment. He would call Raito to try to get him to stay after class but when the brunet didn't make excuses, he just blew him off.

Mikami suspected he was still sore about the incident with the kiss in the classroom and Matsuda holding the water buckets. He didn't know for sure but something was different… for instance, when Mikami brought him flowers or wine or jewelry, Raito wouldn't gasp or gawk and half the time, he didn't even except the gifts which was a harsh blow to Mikami.

The professor watched in jealously during class as Raito would help Matsuda understand what was going on or, if they were sculpting that day, he would help him with angles or proportion.

On a Monday, Mikami watched as Matsuda clumsily gathered his belongings in his arms and followed Raito out of the room. Raito, usually, would walk at a pace where Matsuda had to jog to catch him. Lately, though, Raito would walk at just the right pace to be a little ahead of Matsuda for a while and it would almost look like a puppy following his master around. Raito kind of liked it and Matsuda didn't mind at all.

That night, Raito was sitting down in Matsuda's living room on the floor. The couch had been pushed back towards the kitchenette to give them some room to work. Books and papers and notebooks were spread all around and one of Matsuda's socks were cast carelessly onto the floor.

Raito looked around, scratching at the back of his head. "Matsu, have you seen my pen? I swear, it was just here…"

"No," Matsuda called from the other room. He came out, having changed from heavy jeans to gray sweatpants. He plopped down beside Raito with a sigh and then brightened at seeing his other sock laying a foot away. He grabbed it and slipped it onto his naked left foot.

Raito looked back and saw his pen had been laying underneath the sock. "There it is," he said, giving Matsuda a look. "You're almost as bad as Lawliet with disorganization, you know."

"Almost. That's not so bad, right?"

"… Well, I guess optimism is a good thing."

Matsuda smiled. "So what's first?"

"_Everything_," Raito groaned. He picked up Matsuda's notebook - it was so sloppy and actually had footprints in it. Raito guessed that came from Matsuda dropping his belongings so often and people stepping on them. Raito had tried to read Matsuda's notes earlier but they were illegible. "We'll have to start from scratch. What's the last thing you remember?"

Matsuda thought hard.

Raito watched.

Seconds turned into minutes.

"Okay, forget that. We'll start from chapter one in the textbook," Raito said, pulling the book onto his lap. He flipped to the very beginning and noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Matsuda was at his side, his face practically buried in the book in Raito's lap. Raito nearly jumped. "Don't do that, you'll ruin your eyes!"

Matsuda withdrew with a worried expression on his face. "I can't help it. I have to learn this stuff or I'll fail my midterm!"

"It's less than a month, Matsu, how could you learn all of this in that short time…?" Raito asked.

"Aw, are you saying I have no chance?"

"No… you'll learn the majority of it, it's just…" Raito looked back at the book confusedly. _How in the world can I teach him all of this in such a short amount of time? If it was Near or Mello, or even Matt then I…_

Matsuda sat back on his heels and sighed. "I wish I were smarter."

Raito looked over his shoulder. "What's that mean?"

"I wish I was great at sculpting like you or even like the other students in our class," he murmured, clearly distraught.

Raito shook his head. "The other students are far from great, Matsu."

"But at least they're not stupid," he cried.

"Matsu! You're not stupid, okay, you can be just as good as the rest of them…" Raito slowed to a pause. He lifted his hand and placed it on Matsuda's shoulder. "You'll do just fine. That's what studying is for, after all, right? To help?"

There was a silence during which Matsuda just smiled a bit and looked down, picking up a pencil to fiddle with. "S-So, let's get started," he said.

Raito blinked. "Right."

-

A little after midnight, Mello was climbing the stairwells of the painting building to the third floor. He was going slowly and rubbing at his right eye on the way. L hadn't called him in for a session in over a week and he had grown accustomed once again to actually sleeping. However, he had noticed, that everyday he saw L, he seemed more and more lethargic and eating more than his usual amount of sweets.

_Maybe he still hasn't been sleeping_, Mello wondered as he reached the third floor. The bare light bulbs swung overhead and Mello self-consciously ran a hand through his hair to smooth it down a bit. _Either way, walking down here like this is sort of lonely… I wish Near would tell me what's wrong so I could punch L and we could carry on with the damn project. What's the point of even calling me down here? I can't substitute so…_

Mello used the key around his neck to open the door and walked inside, shutting it behind him. For once, the lights were on in the room and Mello squinted away from the harshness of it. The curtains on the large window in front of which Near usually sat were closed, blocking out the moonlight. L was standing next to it, leaning back on the wall and straightened when he saw Mello scratching his head.

"What's up with this, huh?" he asked, coming further into the room.

L walked towards him, smiling dazedly. "Ah, well, we can't do much painting tonight because Near has gone AWOL but I figured other things could be done."

Mello blinked. "Other things?"

L nodded and took one hand from inside his pocket, flashing a wrench at Mello.

"… What the hell?"

"I have purchased a heater for the studio," L explained, rolling his eyes upward. "But I'm afraid I'm not much of a handyman so I require assistance."

"Heater?" Mello looked around rapidly and then over on the other side of the room, a large, clunky machine caught his eye. Part of the vent had been taken off and wires were everywhere. Mello groaned. "Fucking hell, that's a big ass heater!"

L nodded. "Yes, glad I won't be doing this by myself."

"You jerk-"

"Come on, Mello," L hummed, tossing the blond the wrench. He turned on his heel and headed for the heater with Mello in tow, grumbling.

When they sat down in front of it, Mello on his knees and L in his usual sitting position, the blond looked across his mentor to see a red box full of assorted tools. He pursed his lips together and then held out a hand to L. "So, where are the instructions?"

"It didn't come with any," L said, obviously deep in thought with his thumb in his mouth.

"What? No instructions?" Mello wailed. "But how are we supposed to-"

"We could play it by ear?"

"…" Mello turned around, frustrated. "We're artists not fucking electricians," he grumbled and took a look at the back of the machine.

It took a long time but soon, Mello was operating on the heater, attaching wires and screwing in bolts and trying his hardest not to get electrocuted. He had deemed L extremely illiterate when it came to machinery and so he just asked L to pass him certain things.

Once Mello found his footing and was working at a good pace, he kept light conversation with L. Consciously, Mello would have preferred not to talk at all. The slight touches of their fingertips when handling the tools was quite enough and sometimes, when there would be pauses in the conversation, Mello would glance over and find L staring at him.

_Fucking hell, does this guy have no shame?_

"Okay," Mello sighed, sitting back. "There's two wires but only one port left… did we go wrong somewhere?"

"I have done nothing, shouldn't you know?"

"Yeah, thanks." Mello looked at the two wires with indecision. "Well, we can't just sit here. I'll just try one and then the other."

"I'll stand by in case you get electrocuted."

Mello rolled his eyes. He leaned forward again to test the wires. "Hey," he said from behind the machine, "just why are we installing this thing anyway? It was for Near but since he won't be joining us any longer-"

"You don't think he'll come back?"

There was a pause. Mello peeked from behind the machine, an eyebrow raised. "You do?"

L shrugged lightly. "Well, you do know him better than I do."

"…" Mello sighed and leaned back into his sitting position. He scanned the heater and nodded. "I think it was the yellow wire after all. Well, let's turn it on and see if it explodes."

L watched as Mello reached over and flicked on the switch. For a moment, nothing happened and Mello was about to start cursing but then there was a sound in the depths of the machine and it made a whirling noise. It stopped and then got louder and out of the top of the vent blew thousands of shreds of paper and dead bugs. Mello scrambled away and to his feet while L stood slowly, kicking away the debris.

Mello coughed, shielding his face. "Well, it's working," he said, semi-proudly.

"Yes, you're actually very good at this."

Mello nodded. After a few minutes, random things stopped floating out of the heater's vent and Mello felt the warm air coming through. Near really would have liked this had he been there. Mello turned to look at and said, "Hey, why do you think he quit?"

"Perhaps he doesn't like me."

Mello rolled his eyes. "He _likes_ you, L, he adores you."

"Then maybe he thinks he shouldn't."

_Yeah, well, that makes two of us_, Mello thought, agitated. "We'll find out something to do for you gallery, L… It's the end of December, isn't it? Ugh, this is the worst timing…"

"Ah, you're concerned?" L smirked.

"W-Well, yeah. You've been working so hard on it," Mello said, looking towards the ground. "I'll get him to come back, okay? I don't care if I have to have Matt help me drag him here!"

L laughed a little and took a step towards his student. "You don't have to do that, let him come back when he's ready."

Mello snorted, "You have a soft spot for him."

"I do."

Mello hadn't noticed but they were practically standing toe-to-toe after L took that last step. The blond looked up and frowned at those large, obsidian eyes engulfing him. _This is fucking ridiculous_, he thought as he closed his eyes and leaned forward. When his lips met nothing but air, he opened his eyes quickly and was staring straight into L's neck and felt L's lips, coated with a fine sheen of sugar, against his forehead. L pulled away then, smiling, and said, "The heat's probably getting to you."

For the first time in a while, Mello laughed and said, "Yeah, probably."

-

**to be continued.**

-

A/N: _Thank you for reading! Please send thoughts!_


	19. Spiral

A/N: _Thank you all for your kind attentions. Please enjoy!_

-

**Azure Paler than the Sky.**

**nineteen.**

"_Hey, all you late-nighters. It's Matt again. I thought about skipping tonight because I am kinda tired but… I just can't sleep! I dunno what it is about this kind of weather that makes you wanna stay up all night and watch for snow. I swear, it's gonna happen soon and when it does, I'm going to go out and make snow-angels!_

"_Just for all of you who're interested, my end of term project with Lisa is going great - I couldn't have asked for bigger talent! I'll probably get top marks. In the Spring, I'll start my spread on sensuality which should be fucking awesome…_

"_God, am I tired… it's really warm in the studio here so even in my boxers, I'm not cold. Someone talk to me to keep me awake. The number's 555-MATT. … Hey, you're on the air!"_

"_Hey, Matt, it's Dave again."_

"_Hey - uh… ahem. Right. Well, what's up, dude?"_

"_You don't sound happy to hear from me…"_

"_Well, I mean… it's just, things got a little weird the last time we talked."_

"_You enjoyed it."_

"_Uh…"_

"…"

"_So what's up, man? You cool? All relaxed and relieved?"_

"_I heard you talking about being unable to sleep. I have this Ryan Farish CD I play whenever I'm not able to sleep so I thought I'd put it on for you to listen to."_

"… _Really? Aw, man, that's really nice of you but I don't want to fall asleep on radio."_

"_Just listen."_

"… _Wow. This is nice…"_

"…"

"…"

"…"

"… _Zzz…"_

"… _Um, Matt? Are you still there?"_

"_Zzzz."_

"…"

-

It was a little past one in the morning and Near still hadn't fallen asleep. He lay sprawled out on his bed with a coloring book beneath him and crayons splayed out by his elbows. He had been trying for hours to go to sleep but sleep never came and in the end, he lay on the bed, staring out of the window. The moon outside was dusted over by the fog on the window and sometimes when Near wasn't zoned out, he would try to see snowflakes. Still, there weren't any.

Earlier, he had heard Mello leaving to go to a session with L. As much as Near dreaded thinking about it - _how I've come so far only to let L down…_ - he couldn't help but wonder, what would become of L's painting? Would L try to have Mello step in for him? It was a nice thought and might work in a story or something but there was no way that could happen in real life. Mello and Near, physically, were nothing alike and so for L to try and make Mello a Near-model would be futile.

_So, what could be the purpose of another session?_ he wondered, sighing down at the crayons beneath him. Almost instantly, he chided himself. He was no longer part of the project so it really wasn't any of his business what they were doing. Though he told himself that, time and time again, these images invaded his mind.

The way L watched Mello in class.

The small sneers and lilt of the lips Mello gave his professor.

Near blushed at the feeling coursing through him at the thought. Mello's coral lips and L's stark eyes. For Mello, it was all in the way he would lounge around half naked in the apartments, either his own or in Near's, his zipper all the way down. Near often shivered with delight at the sight of Mello's dark blonde pubic hairs just barely visible over the zipper. How he looked down as he was concentrating on the canvas and then suddenly looked up, his blue eyes hiding behind a veil of gold. And _oh_, that grin he gave.

The contrast of Mello's golden starlight ways and L's solemn ability to take Near's breath away was immeasurable. Nothing was alike with the two. L was so introverted, and, like a black hole, one couldn't help but be sucked inside and lose themselves to the emptiness. All those implications in the few words L would say to Near daily were melting Near away. He couldn't begin to explain the excitement and… longing he felt when L brought all his attention onto the boy.

Near sometimes felt he would be crushed under the weight of those hungry eyes.

He rolled off of the bed, inwardly groaning and shuffled over to the door to step into his sneakers. The moonlight through the window reflected off of his pale skin and followed the curve and bagginess of his pajamas as he moved to put on his hoodie.

_What's really crushing me_, he thought as he struggled to pull his head through the hole, _is staying in here awake like this. Thoughts getting to me… if I can't sleep, I'll just have a walk about campus. By then, I should be able to go to sleep. _

He opened the door and set off down the hallway, not thinking for a moment that the cold weather might keep him awake even longer. As he walked down the hallway, he cast a glance towards Mello and Matt's dorm and thought that perhaps Matt was back from his late night radio broadcast. Near had listened one night, he thought that it was the first time Matt had done it, and had quickly turned his radio off after hearing some questionable noises.

Even if Matt was asleep just then, something told Near that he would gladly accept Near if he were to knock on the door. To play puppets or build castles or just to lay in Mello's spot on the bed and talk. Of course, Matt would probably say the same thing he had a week ago.

_You know, some people would say it's natural to…_

Natural to…?

The door opened at the bottom of the stairwell and the cold air hit Near like a rushing wave. He sighed, a puff of his breath showing up in front of his face, and ventured outside. His sneakers crunched on the blades of grass, heavy with frost, and made tiny sounds under his feet as he crossed the field towards the courtyard on the other side of the cafeteria.

At this time of night, the campus was quiet. It was lonely but sometimes, Near wished it was this way always. Just the sound of the would-be snow under his sneakers and the cold on his face and hands, penetrating his pockets. He rolled his eyes towards the sky and the icy wind raced through the fields, shaking the bare trees and ruffling Near's hair. He shut his eyes tightly and pulled up his hood over his ears that were already pink.

Sighing, he continued down a bit of a slope and nearly slipped on a particularly slick patch of grass. He let out a small yip and unfurled his arms from his sides, waving them around wildly to regain balance. His heel tilted back and he managed not to go sliding down the downgrade. When he stepped back, he quickly about-faced and headed in the opposite direction, the parking lot.

He shuffled slowly but efficiently, watching his step, a small dot in a snow globe, as it were. His eyes scanned the ground, sometimes rolling up at the landscape in the distance, the naked trees and night whirling overhead. Silence in stereo and the only sound made itself known in a moment when he stepped off the curb and into one of the side parking lots. The click of his sneakers hitting the concrete. That and-

"Oh, Near."

Near's head shot up, his eyes rounding.

L smiled a bit, lowering his head from where he had been looking up toward the sky. He was slightly hunched over, leaning back on a jet-black Mercedes. One hand was shoved deep into his jean pocket and the other was resting on the hood of the car, looking much paler than usual. L's eyes were half-lidded and the deep circles underneath were much more noticeable.

_Haven't you been sleeping?_ Near wondered. Though, he said, "L… what're you doing out here? I thought you were with Mello."

"Ah," L hummed, nodding. "I was, but it was a very short session. How much can we do without our subject, after all?"

Near looked away, ashamed. "Well…"

"What're you doing out here? Young students shouldn't wander the campus alone like this at night." L glanced at his hand on the hood of the car and dragged his fingers along the paint, making faint marks where the frost covered it.

"I couldn't sleep," Near said.

"Still, it's very dangerous."

"I-I'm not a child," he huffed, his cheeks reddening, "but I am a little tired. I'll go back to my dorm room now…"

L rocked forward, abandoning his space on the car and held his hand out to the boy before he could turn. "I'll take you. It's a bit of a walk from here, as I remember."

Near blinked. "That's your car?"

"Naturally," he said, walking around the hood to the driver's side. He opened the door and slipped inside, shutting it behind him. Near hesitated but through the tinted windows, he could see movement and the door on the passenger's side was opened. He paused and then walked forward, climbing into the car and shutting the door behind him.

He sighed immediately and relaxed against the leather seat, tipping his head back. "It's so warm," he said, aloud on accident. The heat was on and he found himself wondering if L had just stopped the car a bit ago. His cheeks and nose pinked at the heat coming from the vents and he turned his head to the driver just as L inserted the key into the ignition; the engine hummed smoothly and L backed out of the parking space.

Near watched him mildly, surprised actually, at how easily L drove with one knee pressed up to his chest like that and the other leg operating the gas and brake. He had never imagined that was how L drove or anyone for that matter.

"So," L said and Near turned to the window, watching the world through frost and glass. "How have you been doing lately? We don't talk much anymore."

Near shrugged into the seat. "We never did much talking…"

"True."

"… I'm sorry, I'm being cold," he sighed. After a moment's pause, he said, "I do miss talking to you. But you never told me what you were doing outside like that." He looked over again and noticed that L didn't have much more on than a sweater and heavy jeans. He must've been freezing but showed no signs of it.

L turned the steering wheel lightly. "Ah," he said, "I was waiting for snow."

Near nodded. "Everyone's been waiting for it."

"It's late this year but the forecast said it would come soon. I got that knowledge from Raito, who has something called WeatherBug on his computer. But… it's been saying that for the past five days so I don't know if I believe it or not anymore."

"You were out there though, waiting."

L let out a half-hearted laugh. "I'm just impatient."

"Are you?" Near asked, his eyelids fluttering. The heat just kept rolling onto him in waves and he could barely keep his eyes open. He let his hands slip from inside his coat pockets and rested them on his lap just below one of the vents and they warmed.

"For some reason, I don't like the cold but I love snow. It's very relaxing to look at. Though I discourage my students from scenery painting, I'm always pleased to see snowcapped mountains or plains blanketed with white. It's-"

"L, please."

L blinked and reached forward to turn on the windshield wipers - the frost had become too thick to see through and soon a field of vision was cleared. "Please what, Near?" he asked, replacing himself comfortably into the seat.

"Please, just ask me back. I'm sorry for leaving… I've found no peace outside of helping you and Mello. I miss it. I…" He sighed.

"Just what were you looking to find peace from?"

Near said nothing.

"You couldn't possibly be ashamed of your body, like you told Mello."

"Why…?" he asked sleepily - in truth, it was almost a yawn.

L pressed down on the brake and the car came to a halt. He left the key inside the ignition and Near subconsciously appreciated it, the continual feeling of being wrapped up inside a warm blanket lulling him. L turned to him and reached over his lap to the other side of the seat where he pulled up the crank to lean the boy's seat back. He did so in one swift motion and Near went tipping back along with the seat.

"Because you're beautiful," L whispered, leaning down over him, encouraged by Near's pale hand grasping at his shirt and pulling at it. "Every silky inch of you is worth adoration. I'm so proud of Mello for loving you like he does. And I'm proud of you…"

Near exhaled, shuddering as their noses brushed. "I left."

"You came back," L breathed.

"Don't praise me…" Near closed his eyes and could feel the warmth of L's body on his. He parted his pink lips and tilted his head to the side. L placed his lips in the groove of Near's and, on the other side of the window, snowflakes began to drift to Earth.

-

Matt was just laying down in the bed when Mello came into the apartment, yelling and shouting and waking the dead with his volume. Matt, used to this sort of behavior but not it's avid fan, sat up dazedly in bed and watched as Mello went on about something or another. Matt listened, coming in and out of what was being said. He had been so tired and even on his way back to the room, he had been dreaming. But now…

"-gone! Matt, are you listening? Matt, wake _up_," Mello yelled, punctuating his command by picking up a pillow and slapping the back of Matt with it.

Matt flinched and snored aloud. "Huh? What's gone, Mel?"

"Near! I came back from being with L and I went into Near's room and he's gone!"

"Aw, c'mon," Matt slurred, rubbing at his left eye, "give the kid a break, he's probably got a class…"

"It's _two_ in the _fucking_ morning, Matt," Mello said through gritted teeth.

Matt blinked. "S'it? Damn, it's late…"

Mello groaned. He paced around the room like a trapped cat and just as he lifted his head to maybe scream at Matt some more, there was a knock on the door. Mello paused in his pacing and then, sparing Matt a glance, was at the door in two large strides. He threw it open and was about to shout _Near_ before the young boy was presented to him, asleep, in the arms of their professor.

Mello gasped, "What happened?"

"What is it, Mel?" Matt asked, still sitting up in bed.

"Maybe if you got off your lazy ass, you'd see!"

"… Not _that_ interested…"

Mello turned back to the two and L said, "He fell asleep on me while I was driving him back to the building. Could you help me get him to his room?"

"Oh… yeah, okay," Mello went back to the nightstand by his and Matt's bed - Matt had already deduced that Near was safe and so he rolled over in bed - and retrieved his copy of Near's cardkey. He walked back over to the door and shut it behind him. L was standing over by Near's door with Near hanging limp in his arms and watching Mello expectantly.

"So," Mello said as he crossed the hallway, "how did he even find you? I thought you went to bed."

"I ended up outside. Seems Near was interested in walking around campus."

"That's dangerous," Mello grumbled, sliding the key.

"I told him so."

The door opened and Mello pushed it back further just as L held Near out to him. Mello held out his arms and took the boy, straightening again and walking into the room. He turned back at L who was standing just outside of the threshold.

"Aren't you coming in?" Mello asked, eyebrow raised.

L smirked a bit. "You're asking."

"… What?"

"You're asking me to come in. That's nice of you, Mello." He took a few steps into the apartment.

Mello scowled. "I'm not a complete heathen, you know, and I like-"

"-you," L whispered, leaning into Mello, his shirt brushing up against Near's side. His lips connected with Mello's and the blond nearly dropped his lover in surprise. After the initial shock, he pushed into the kiss, inadvertently holding Near tighter.

L pulled back quickly and smiled at the dazedly happy look on Mello's face. "You might want to put him down," he said, pointing to the boy in his arms.

"… huh… Oh. Right."

-

The next morning, Near's eyes slowly opened, fluttering under the sweet sunlight that fell down from the open window and onto his bed. He sighed lightly and fisted his hand in the comforter. He'd obviously forgotten to close the curtains again, as he had probably been staring out of the window the previous night for hours. So long, in fact, that he could not recall when he had gone to sleep.

Had it been here on the bed, that coloring book beneath him as he waited for the snowflakes to fall outside of the window? Or had it been…

_I… I saw L last night_, he thought sleepily, closing his eyes again, _and he took me back as his assistant… He took me home. A-After we… we…_

Near reached his hand up, sliding over the bedspread, and touched his lips gingerly with his fingertips. He could almost feel the warmth of L's descending lips upon his own. The heater in the car. Out of the corner of his eye, how he had seen the snowflake fall and cling to the window like life. The snowflake…

Near's eyes popped open and he whirled around, propping himself up with one hand. As he looked behind him, there were fields of white as far as he could see out of the window. And the snow continued to fall, showing no signs of stopping soon - they _danced_ and trembled on the way down, some caught on the sill, others free to whirl out in the small storm. Near's eyes were alive with the flurries reflected in them.

_It wasn't a dream._

"Mmm, Near…"

Near gasped and looked down at the body his hand was placed on. L looked up at him through tired, bleary eyes, his hair a splayed out over the pillow he lay on. Near quickly retracted his hand and whispered, "L, what're you doing here?"

"I was sleeping until you nearly punctured me," he said, sighing, and leaned back into the pillow. He looked up at the ceiling calmly. "I haven't slept like that in a long time."

"You… slept with me," Near breathed, his cheeks a bright red.

"Well, I'm _still_ trying to sleep so, both of you, shut up."

Near whirled his head around to find Mello laying on the other side of him, by the wall. His blond hair was in disarray and his blue eyes were paler, as they usually were in the mornings, from sleep. As Near found, looking down at himself then, all three of them were in their clothes from yesterday.

"Near," Mello ground out, "what's with all the racket?"

"I… ah, what's going on? Why're you two here?" he asked, beginning to panic a little. It wasn't everyday he woke up with two men in his bed, one of them his lover and the other his teacher. Near looked back at L when he felt the man's weight shift on the bed. He sat up and was a little above eye-level with Near.

"You fell asleep in the car last night," he explained, "and I brought you back here to Mello."

Mello finally sat up, joining the two. "I can't believe you went out like that, Near, what if someone had grabbed you? Like on TV. Some crazy person could've raped you and left you out in the cold to die."

L rolled his eyes. "A comforting visual."

"Shut up, I'm being realistic."

Near looked at him, his eyes reflecting guilt. But somewhere deep inside, Near thought that maybe Mello had been tuning into Matt's radio show too often. "I'm sorry," he said, "but I couldn't sleep… Lately, I've just… had so much on my mind."

"That's what we wanted to talk to you about," Mello said, taking Near's shoulders in his hands. "The last thing we want is for you to end up like L with perpetual dark circles under your eyes."

"Thank you, Mello." L ignored Mello's laughter and placed an arm around Near's waist, causing the boy to blush and tense. "But he does have a point and we discussed this last night, while you were sleeping…"

Near looked from one to the other. _We…?_

"I wanted to say, just…" Mello shrugged.

"Just?" Near asked.

"Let things go naturally, okay? You don't have to hide your feelings for L," he said and Near gasped, blushing, before Mello continued, looking at the older man, "because I'm not."

Near blinked owlishly as L's other hand reached up and tangled in Mello's blond locks, pulling the two closer until they collided in a kiss, an inch away from Near's nose. When they broke away, Mello turned to Near and pushed him down to the mattress, bending forward until he captured Near's lips in a heated kiss. Near practically melted under the force of Mello's body on top of him and, when he squinted his eyes open, L was sitting there, a studious smirk tugging at his lips.

Mello kept the boy pinned to the mattress but broke their lip-lock, laying down on Near's side. He was grinning at Near's confused state and sighed into the boy's white curls as L leant over Near, taking one hand in his as he did so.

"You're quite a capable young man," he whispered in Near's other ear, causing the boy to tremble beneath him. "I believe you can handle the pressure," and he hissed the last word as their lips connected as they had the night before.

Near opened his mouth to his professor and felt Mello nipping at his earlobe and neck, trailing love bites down his pale skin.

With his legs shaking, he thought, _Is it…_

Mello bit him as if he were chocolate.

_Is it really okay…_

L sucked at his bottom lip with fierce longing.

… _to be happy with two people like this?_

_-_

**to be continued.**

-

A/N: _Please tell me your thoughts!_


	20. December

A/N: _Uh… guys? Look, this is rated T, so there's no lemon but I kinda got carried away… Uh… so, here's your warning, if, like… you don't like… foreplay? Foreplay. Good description._

-

**Azure Paler than the Sky.**

**twenty.**

The snow globe that was Irai Academy fell seamlessly into the month of December. The much-anticipated snow continued to fall and shrouded the roofs of the buildings in it. The fields were covered and the courtyards and sidewalks were so slippery that even the most agile girls from the dance department fell to their rears and were jeered at. Snowmen began to pop up all over campus, some innocent, others obscene. Dean Wammy sent the groundskeepers to beware such lewd snowmen and to abolish them on sight.

This announcement wasn't made, however, until Wammy called for the winter teacher's meeting. There was one every season so that the teachers could catch up on things that needed to be done or deal with menial problems. While most teachers carried on this duty without gripe, L found it to be tedious and not at all helpful when it came to understanding the students' needs.

But the painting professor attended like always, walking into Dean Wammy's office as the last teacher to arrive. He shut the door behind him and looked up from under his dark bangs at the circle of his colleagues, waiting for him to sit so that they may begin.

"Sorry for my tardiness," he said as he sat next to Dean Wammy.

"That's quite all right, L," Wammy said, nodding to him. He clasped his hands in front of him on the desk and surveyed his employees. "Well, everyone, I hope you're all doing well. Midterms are in a few weeks and then we have winter break."

Everyone made small noises of relief that the first term was almost over.

"I, for one," continued Wammy, "will be attending Professor Lawliet's gallery showing on New Year's Eve. I hope to see some of you, if not all of you, there." Wammy gave everyone a well-placed glance over the rim of his glasses and L frowned, slightly embarrassed at Wammy's paternal avocation of him.

"Ah, yes," Mikami yawned, looking over at L with an eyebrow raised, "how is it going anyway, Lawliet? With your two assistants, I mean."

"Swimmingly," L answered, sending him a mild glare.

"I would expect that answer…"

"What does that mean?"

Miss Takada, on Mikami's other side, looked over the sculptor towards the painter. "There have been rumors floating around in the last week that you have a… _unprofessional_ relationship going with both Mr. Kheel and Mr. River."

The other teachers began to look a bit uncomfortable and averted their eyes. Wammy cleared his throat and looked the other way.

"I don't know why my relationships with my students would be any of your business."

"The whole school's talking about it," Takada groaned, rolling her eyes.

"I don't see any problem with it," said Misa from Wammy's other side. She pouted at the darker haired teacher across the room. "Why don't you mind your own business?"

"She's right," L said, looking at Mikami, "you have no room to talk from the shameless way you've hounded Raito Yagami."

Mikami huffed, "Raito Yagami and I are in a teacher-student relationship."

"Now that your wicked plan has failed and your anticipations of sick, twisted sex games have been demolished, yes, you are in a teacher-student relationship," L said placidly.

Mikami and Takada gasped jointly.

"Are you going to let him speak that way, Mr. Wammy?" Takada asked, ignoring his blonde secretary as she howled with laughter.

Wammy shook his head. "Please, stop this, you four. Keep your relationships under wraps, this is a school after all. L, I want to speak with you alone after the meeting."

Mikami smirked and L said nothing.

The meeting went on as usual and light conversation was held between the topics at hand. This was when it was decided that no more indecent snowmen would be tolerated.

"It's really disturbing," said a female culinary teacher. "I was walking over here and saw two of them laying in a… horizontal position on the ground. It was highly graphic."

"It's the sculpture students," said another.

"Don't put that on me," Mikami grumbled.

L had seemed to not be paying much attention to what was going on, his eyes rolled up towards the ceiling. Sighing, he said, "Everyone here should be happy that the students are finding art in everything they do. Do not be such downers."

Wammy shook his head. "No, no… they're right, L. School is not the place for that. I'll tell the groundskeepers to tear down the questionable ones."

After a while, the meeting was over and all of the teachers, save for L, left with their goodbyes to Dean Wammy. Mikami and Takada were two of the last out of the door and they sent mild glares L's way, which he took in stride. The door closed softly behind them and L was left alone with Wammy in the office. He turned towards the older man attentively.

"Well, that was certainly an eventful conversation," said Wammy, pushing his glass up on his nose with a finger.

L frowned. "I do not desire a lecture."

"I don't aim to give you one." He cleared his throat. "I am going to give you the same proposition I gave Raito last year. If you want to, I will take you as a Senior student so that you will be in the same year as Near and Mello."

L blinked at him for a moment and then shook his head.

"Oh, L, don't be childish."

"I don't want to be a student."

"You wouldn't have to be had you kept your relationship to yourself. The whole school knows about it now… it's very improper. You can't traipse around campus in a threesome with two of your students."

"Why not?"

"_L_."

"I won't give up my position," he said, wishing he had some sort of candy.

"You don't even _like_ teaching children."

L averted his eyes. "I won't give up my position," he repeated and thought of Raito and how he seemed so miserable without his blessed title of Professor Yagami. "I'm done with college days, that was enough to last a lifetime. If anyone has a problem with the relationship I'm in, they can take it up with Mello. I honestly don't care."

Wammy paused for a moment and then sat back in his large leather chair, sighing. He rubbed at his temples wearily for a bit while L sat there, hugging his knees and looking very much like he would when he was a teenager - sitting in Wammy's office next to Raito for one offence or another. He could just hear Raito, in the back of his mind, attempting to silence L's bargaining for their punishment after filling the water fountain with purple food-coloring for "art's sake."

Wammy nearly laughed then and took his hands away from his forehead. "All right, L," he said, leaning forward, "you do what you want but, please, be a bit more discreet. I've scolded Mikami for his chasing after Raito and after not punishing you, I seem as if I'm bias."

"You are."

"I know."

"Well," L sighed, standing, "I shall be taking my leave to go and molest one or more of my students."

"_L_."

"I only kid."

"No, you don't."

"I know," he said and flashed a smile.

-

"Just two more weeks. You're doing really well, you know," Raito said as he sent a small smile towards Matsuda. The younger man sat at his side, his seat pushed up far into the table where his stomach was touching the edge. They were in the cafeteria and the room around them buzzed with chatter of about thirty or so students but both Raito and Matsuda had grown tired of studying in their dorms. The lighting was good and they sat with their textbooks in front of them.

Matsuda smiled, twirling his pen around in his right hand. "I wouldn't be understanding so much if it wasn't you tutoring me. Mikami makes everything seem so twisty and I just don't get it."

Raito considered this and then thought back to those times in class when half of the classroom wore looks of utter confusion. Like Matsuda, the majority of them neglected to ask for him, either afraid of Mikami's death-glare or of looking like Matsuda. Raito had never noticed it much, always too absorbed in the subtle curve of Mikami's backside but now that he thought about it, Mikami had been a bit unclear.

"He's just started teaching," Raito said finally, "I'm sure he'll improve over time."

Matsuda sighed, scrunching his face. "Still, I wish you were my teacher…"

Raito laughed a bit and turned the page in the textbook. "You might get your wish," he hummed.

Matsuda looked up, blinking.

"No offense to students everywhere," Raito sighed, "but I really dislike being a student. Whenever I go into the teacher's lounge, everyone but L gives me strange looks. I have to use the student bathrooms which are atrocious and there are _still_ things written about me on the walls from when I was a student… I don't need to study since I can actually teach everything so I'm bored out of my _mind_ most times. And I don't get to attend the teacher's meetings any longer!" Raito was on the physical verge of pouting, having worked himself up into a huff through his speech.

"S-So you want to teach again?"

"… Yes. I do. And I'm starting in the Spring semester."

"Oh, Raito," Matsuda yelped happily and grasped the brunet's sides, pulling him into a hug. Raito sighed, rolling his eyes even as he put his own arms around Matsuda's waist, hugging him back. Matsuda leant his head slightly on Raito's shoulder, looking up at him. "That's great, then maybe next term, I won't fail!"

"You won't fail _this_ term, Matsu." Raito pulled away from the hug and sat back, nodding to himself. "I'll pound this into you until you're dizzy with it."

Matsuda turned away, blushing.

"Hmm?" Raito blinked and pointed towards the text books frantically. "I-I meant-"

"Ah, hello, princess."

Both of them looked up, drawn out of their mutual embarrassment and were staring straight at Mikami, who had snuck over to their table unbeknown to them. The florescent lighting was giving off a bright glare on his glasses. He planted a heavy hand on the table and said to Raito, "I had wondered where you'd gone but it seems I was able to find you."

Raito huffed, raising an eyebrow. "What have I told you about calling me that?"

"I'm sorry, delicious," he said, sitting down and ignoring Raito's indignant expression. "What are you doing here?"

"… I'm helping Matsu," he said, sparing his companion a glance. "And we really should get back to it."

"Ah, Raito. Beauty, brains and a charitable heart. It's why I'm so enamored by you," he whispered, taking Raito's hand and leaning in close to him, licking at the shell of Raito's ear.

Raito gasped and pulled his hand back as Matsuda blushed brightly, looking away. "Mikami, what has gotten into you?" Raito shouted.

"We haven't talked in so long," said the man and he squeezed Raito's thigh under the table, earning a suppressed moan from the brunet. "Come back to my room with me," he insisted. "Save your sweet benevolence to the impeded for another day."

Raito withdrew from the man's touches, an enraged expression on his face. "How could you say that!"

Matsuda blinked. "What? What'd he say?"

"Matsuda is _not_ impeded," he continued.

"What's impeded mean?"

Raito groaned loudly.

Mikami laughed and shrugged lightly. "See? He doesn't mind. Come here, sweetness, I really don't want to wait any longer," he said, taking Raito by the hand and pulling him out of his seat. He was practically dragging Raito along with him but didn't get five steps before Raito wrenched his wrist away from Mikami's grasp and stood in front of the table, amber eyes blazing.

"Hey! You can't just come in here like a ball of testosterone and drag me out to have sex with you," he said, none-too-discreetly, and a few people at surrounding tables turned to look at them. "No matter what those bathroom walls say, I am not a slut and I won't be treated like one. Even if you think he's dumb, Matsuda's really kind and he tries really hard. And, personally, I would rather go to Matsuda's room with him for the night than go to you." Raito smirked and, to punctuate his sentence, he brought his fingers up to his mouth and licked the tips, then dragged them down his chest slowly. He winked at the horror-stricken Mikami. "I think Matsu has a _lot_ of potential…"

Mikami's mouth hung open a bit and he stood there for a moment, unsure of what to say. Finally, when it was clear that Raito's mind was made up, Mikami turned on his heel and left the cafeteria through the east exit. Raito sighed at his leaving and dropped his shoulders. When he turned back around, the entire population of the cafeteria was turned towards him, all eyes wide open.

Raito groaned at having made a spectacle of himself and before he could make to sit down, someone out of the crowd began a slow-clap.

"Oh, cut it out," Raito shouted, huffing and sitting back down. He noticed then, out of the corner of his eye, Matsuda's expression of shock and bewilderment. Raito ignored it and said, "Matsu, please turn to page 367. We've still got a lot to cover."

"… Right," he mumbled and flipped the pages in the book. After a moment or two of silence, Matsuda raised his eyes up to Raito. He said quietly, "Uh, Raito…?"

"Yes?" he asked curtly, nose buried in his textbook.

"… Did you… mean what you said to the professor?"

"What?"

"About… that you'd rather spend the night with me… did you mean that?"

There was a pause and, slowly, Raito placed the book back on the table, revealing a light blush across his cheeks. "Yes," he said softly, keeping his gaze focused on the text before him.

Matsuda blinked and his blush intensified. "Oh. Okay." He looked back towards his book and, in a moment, he let his hand slip from its place on the tabletop to Raito's under the table and grasped it lightly, still afraid of being rejected.

His whole body relaxed when he felt Raito squeeze back.

-

"_It's Matt with the Irai noon-hour radio show! I'm back with a brand new guest and my favorite playmate, Near! He's got his rabbit here and is looking as cute as ever."_

"_Oh, Matt…"_

"_A little info about my buddy before we start. He's about as cute as an albino raccoon and he likes to cuddle. He's a genius painter with straight A's and is currently in a steamy threesome with his pervy teacher, Lawliet, and his longtime-sweetheart, Captain Kheel. Well, Near, what - AW. He's blushing!"_

"_I-I am not! Can be just begin?"_

"_Sure; wanna read the first postcard?"_

"_Okay… it reads: Dear Matt, I heard about little Near's decision to be with those other guys. Tell him if he ever needs another player, I'm up for grabs! Signed, Big Dick… Oh my goodness…"_

"_Uh… Near? You okay?"_

"…"

"_Aw, come it, it's okay! We won't let him get you, okay? Look, I'll make a shout out. Yo, Big Dick! Keep your dick away from Near! … See, don't you feel better?"_

"_Not really…"_

"_You'll be okay. Here, I'll read the next one. Says: Dear Matt, Near is so cute with all of those toys. Does he have any sex toys? Signed, Oogie Boogie Man. … Well, this certainly is a special batch of postcards. What say you, Near?"_

"_I most certainly do not have any… I… what are you looking at me like that for?"_

"_Don't lie to the masses, Near."_

"_I-I…!"_

"_Let's do another."_

"_I don't think-"_

"_Dear Matt, you should be ashamed of yourself. There you sit, either in your studio or lugging that hungry hippo, Lisa, around campus while Mello and the professor make off with Near, rubbing their hot bodies all over him and filling him with the pent-up tension of young college men! You and Near should be together! Signed, Secret Agent Man."_

"…"

"_Wow… well, Near… wanna please the fans?"_

"_You sent that in yourself!"_

"… _heh."_

-

A week later, the sessions in L's studio were back up to speed. Ever since Near had been back on the project, they had been working like madmen to catch up with all that time lost. Still, at first, the three of them were so taken by their new relationships - all the unspoken boundaries that could now be freely broken - that they didn't get too much done. L, being the adult in the situation, would always have to restrain himself ceasing his work in favor of jumping Near and Mello was never any help, always standing so slow when L was working. He would sometimes wrap his arms around the man's neck and dip his head down to whisper something horribly dirty into his ear and it would drive L to the edges of his sanity.

Sometimes, he almost jerked the paintbrush because of Mello's taunting and that was not something L took lightly. He would then complain to Mello and Mello would whine and it would turn into a bit of a fight for dominance, ending up in ripped shirts and heavy breathing and sweat clinging to their hair.

And the heater was doing wonders for Near who no longer shivered from the cold but from watching Mello underneath L when he decided, _fuck it, I'll beat him next time_ and it was funny because, for Mello, next time never came. The blond would turn his head as he lay on the dirty floor and lick his lips at Near, whose legs quivered and slipped out of position from time to time.

Other times, at the beginning of sessions, L wouldn't allow Near to take off his own clothes, instead opting to do it himself or to employ Mello to do so. The two of them would undress Near slowly and tease him, running their long fingers up and down his body. He cried out once, needy, as L ghosted his fingertips and lips on the boy's inner thighs and Mello suckled harshly on Near's index finger, his soft tongue wrapping around the digit.

Near loved it when L would sometimes be so bold as to get down on his knees and hoist Near's thighs upon his shoulders, burying his face between the boy's legs. Near inhaled sharply and tensed his muscles when Mello came from behind him and grabbed his wrists, slapping on _handcuffs_ for God's sake, and where the bloody hell did _those_ come from? Mello grinned at Near's flustered state, his mind tied up and twisted in L's tongue and Mello's hand sliding down his stomach, his fingers rubbing and teasing the protruding skin there. Before Near could make those sweet little cries of his, Mello captured his lips to stifle him and worked his tongue around the sensitive edges of Near's gums.

By the time Near's toes curled, no one really felt like painting anymore.

This ended up a problem and after a few more nights of this - afterward, L would think to himself, _Maybe next time, we'll get some work done_, but for L, next time never came - the sight of the calendar caught their attention. Near most of all, who felt guilty for abandoning the project, and told them that fun and games were to be had outside of the work area.

Unfortunately for Mello and L, they agreed and were forced to control themselves. From then on, they worked like men possessed. Between classes, on weekends, anytime they had a spare moment. L was at the point where he no longer needed the moon - the lighting was forever in his mind.

On the nineteenth, it was finally finished. When Near climbed down from the chair for the last time, he neglected to grab his robe and walked completely naked over to the canvas where L and Mello stood. He peeked around the side, already told by L that he would be able to see upon completion, and smiled at himself as he sat on the chair in that other world.

Mello, who had been studying the painting before, was then looking at the real Near standing in front of him. He was smiling and hugging L and telling him how amazing it was, all while being unclothed. It was probably something that anyone else would scoff at - _So? He'd been naked for weeks, posing_, they might say. But it all in the way he carried himself. He had walked around the room as if he'd been bundled up in his pajamas that he used to wear no matter what time of day.

_He's come a long way_, Mello thought, studying him and caught a small smile that L had flashed him. He smirked back and leant forward, placing a kiss on the back of Near's head.

Near turned around, blinking. His face was flushed from excitement. "What do you think of it, Mello?" he asked.

After a pause, his smirk widened. "I love it. I'm surprised L was able to pull it off. I'd thought he'd gotten incapable in his old age."

"Haha," L yawned.

Mello grinned.

"You know, you still have a few assignments to make up, Mello. They're due tomorrow."

"… _What_?" Mello groaned in disbelief. "You're not gonna make me do 'em, are you?"

"And why not?"

"That's not fair-"

"I wouldn't argue, I could make them due in ten minutes."

"…"

Near laughed under his breath. He was starting to believe it was okay.

Later that afternoon, as the sun was setting and just barely visible in the west, the three of them were walking through one of the outside hallways. The snow had stopped falling earlier that morning but it left a thick blanket coating all the campus, which Near watched as they walked past.

"_Damn_," Mello whined, hugging his arms closer, "why's it got to be so fucking cold, anyway?"

"It's called winter."

"Shut up, L! How can you not be cold, you don't even wear a jacket!"

"My hair keeps me warm."

"… huh?" Mello took a second to look away from L and found Near a few yards back, staring out into the snow. Mello called at him, causing L to pause in his steps as well, "Hey, Near! What're you looking at?"

"I… I think that snowman is moving," Near mumbled, tilting his head to the side.

Mello blinked. He walked over, followed by L, and they stood on either side of Near, looking out into the fields. There was a snowman there, in the middle of the field, facing the three of them. It had two sticks for arms and, much to Mello's alarm, one of them waved at him.

Mello gasped, startled, and pointed at the offensive craft of snow like a hound dog. "It just moved! B-By itself!"

L nodded. "Good boy."

"Hey!"

Suddenly, to the side of the snowman's head, a human head popped out from behind and Near would recognize those emerald eyes anywhere.

"Matt?"

"Yo," he called, waving the snowman's arm again. "Haha, hey Mel, you looked about ready to piss yourself!"

"What? W-Why you…" Mello growled and bent down, grasping a handful of snow and packing it tightly in his fists. He pulled back and then snapped his wrist forward, hurling the snowball towards the snowman's head. It hit and Matt ducked, reemerging above the headless snowman. He sighed and stood up, hands in the air.

"Aw, you murderer! He was special," Matt said, seemingly mourning. However, as Mello laughed at him, Matt reached back into his scarf and pulled out a large snowball, hurtling it at the blond. Mello was hit the chest and some got into his shirt, freezing him to the bone.

"Jesus, Matt! All right, that's it!" he shouted, running out into the snow. L and Near looked at each other and mentally shrugged, stepping off of the sidewalk. When they got closer, they watched mildly as Matt and Mello rolled around on the ground, trying to pummel each other with the white stuff.

Suddenly, a rogue snowball came in from the north and hit Mello on the back of the head. The blond yipped and looked around, paranoid.

"Who threw that?" he shouted.

There was a small titter of laughter and all four of them looked up to find that on a bench a few yards away sat Raito and Matsuda, surrounded by books. Raito was grinning, tossing a snowball in his right hand.

Mello gasped, "Raito!"

Matt laughed and kicked Mello off of him. He rolled over and grabbed a handful of snow, packing it in one motion, and threw it. Mello tackled him just before he was able to let go, however, and the snowball flew crookedly. L caught it in his hand before it hit Near in the face and tossed it to the side, smacking one of Raito's notebooks off of the bench.

"Hey, Lawliet, don't do that!" Raito cried, picking up the book and sitting it on Matsuda's lap. He stood up and grabbed two handfuls of snow, grinning at his colleague.

L grinned back. "Bring it," he said, a ball of snow already waiting in his hand.

By that time, Near had been pulled down by Matt and was in the middle of him and Mello rolling around in the snow, knocking snowmen off of their pedestals. Right before they went rolling down a small slope, Near saw L being tackled by both Matsuda and Raito and laughed as he was nearly buried beneath bodies.

_It's okay_, he thought, with a mouthful of snow,_ it's okay! _

-

**to be continued.**

-

A/N: _… Right, well, L's gallery is next chapter. -nod nod- Thoughts? Comments? Want to confess your undying love for me? Just kidding. Review, please. _


	21. I2I

A/N: _Ah. I've been proposed to. Five or six times. XD Well, I accept all of you, however I hope you don't mind my impending harem. Also… it's my birthday, well, on August tenth. The big eighteen. … Hmm. All my wives are underage. X.x;;_

-

**Azure Paler than the Sky.**

**twenty-one.**

"I can't believe it! You're not going to be there with me?"

"Calm down," Raito sighed, his hands planted firmly on his hips. He had been trying to avoid telling Matsuda that they wouldn't be taking the midterm together but with all the studying they had been doing lately… it seemed to just slip his mind. Until the testing day.

Matsuda shook his head. "I can't do this by myself, Raito-"

"Matsu, please don't make such a fuss," Raito said, lowering his voice. They were standing out in the courtyard, some students walking by and Raito didn't want anymore attention for the two of them. "Listen, I made straight A's in that class so I don't have to take the midterm. Anyone not testing isn't allowed in the site. But you don't need me there, you know all of this yourself."

"What if I forget?" he insisted.

"You won't," Raito said, lifting his wrist. It was ten minutes to three. Raito, who had tuned out of Matsuda's further babblings, took the man by the hand and walked with him off of the square. The snow crunched under their feet, remains of the vulgar crafts that were once littered around the school. The blue and green scarf around Matsuda's neck fluttered behind him as he was dragged to the sidewalk beside the building and given a little push in the direction of the sculpture building.

"You're going to do great!" Raito encouraged.

Matsuda sighed, looking off toward the building.

Raito smirked a bit and touched Matsuda's cheek, turning his head around. "Hey," he said when he gained the other man's attention, "how about this? When you're done, we'll go out again. This time, I'll pay."

Matsuda's eyes practically lit up. "Really?"

"Sure."

"Okay! I'll do my best, okay?" he nearly shouted, clearly pumped up. Matsuda took a few steps backwards and Raito cringed slightly, wondering if he would trip over his own two feet. He didn't, however, and waved as he raced away, leaving Raito standing on the sidewalk.

Matsuda looked at his own watch as he ran down the other side of the building, trying desperately to avoid the icy patches on the concrete. There were _way _too many people around for him to slip. As he ran, he held up his wrist to see his watch. When it said twelve midnight, he groaned aloud.

_I forgot to replace the batteries! What if I'm late? Oh no, oh no, oh no!_

He closed his eyes and - slipping be damned - ran for his life. He busted in through the first hallway doors and scared the living daylights out of a couple of girls standing by the water fountain. They squealed and squawked as he flashed by, yelling an apology incoherently, flying down the corridor. At the end of the hall was a stairwell and he bounded up the stairs nearly two at a time.

"Hey! Slow down," called a janitor who had almost been mowed over. He was pushed up against the wall and tripped on his mop bucket, falling and crying out, "My leg! Oh God, my leg!"

"Oh, goodness, I'm sorry," Matsuda called down the stairwell, running ahead. "I'll have someone sent down to help yoooooooou!"

His voice echoed and his footsteps fell away.

In less than a moment, he came bursting through classroom 146, panting like a maniac with his hair wild. Everyone in the room gasped, shirking away from the door, thinking him to be a crazed rapist. But they all relaxed instantly upon realizing it was only Matsuda.

Mikami, who was standing at the head of the class with a stack of papers in his arms, looked at Matsuda with little surprise. "Ah, Mr. Matsuda. Pleasure to have you show up today," he said coolly.

Matsuda sighed, relaxing a bit. He walked forward and closed the door behind him. "Um… I'm not late, am I?" he asked as he sat in the front row.

"No, we were just about to begin. There will be no talking during the test and no trips to the restroom, so I hope you've taken care of any needs beforehand."

"Oh, sure."

"Good." Mikami walked forward and just before he laid down the paper on Matsuda's desk, Matsuda raised his hand.

"… What is it, Matsuda?"

"Uh, well, I don't have to go to the bathroom or anything. But there's this guy in the stairwell… he's got a broken leg, I think."

Mikami blinked unbelievingly. "What?"

"Yeah, I was in a hurry to get here so I think… I think I might've hurt him a little. He might still be laying there. Just… thought I should say something…"

"…"

-

"Lisa, I just want to say that the past few weeks I've spent with you as my model have been some of the happiest weeks of my life. And I want you to know that no matter how famous I may become because of this spread, I'll always remember you. It's the little people who make the stars shine as bright as they do. I may even send you a fruit basket! So, c'mere, kiddo, let's put the hands in there! On three, Team Matt! Ready?"

Lisa nodded. She had learned in her time with Matt that if she never said a word, her life would be much easier.

Matt threw his hand in the center of their two-person circle and Lisa put her hand on top of his. When their other free hands joined in, Matt shouted, "One, two, three - TEAM MATT!"

"Woohoo," she said quietly, standing there and waiting for Matt's next speech or command.

"So," he hummed, looking at his watch. He held his portfolio in his other hand. "Is there anything you'd like to say before I go present my project?"

She blinked widely. Matt had never asked her what she thought of anything. Well, he had, but he didn't shut up long enough for to answer. He was actually waiting for her to speak. She looked down for a moment, unable to see her shoes a good inch deep into the snow, and tried to collect her thoughts. Finally, she spoke.

"I'm nervous."

"Ah, kiddo, don't be nervous!" Matt clapped her on the shoulder in a manly fashion. "You're in good hands. Your naked body is about to be revealed not only to my fellow advanced photography students but to the Irai photography board!"

"… That's not really hel-"

"Well, time for me to get on my horse and ride." He snuck a peek at his watch once again and turned on his heel for the photography building. He looked over his shoulder at the chubby girl in the many frocks, standing in the snow, her blonde hair hanging over her shoulders and winked. "It's going to go great! Just wait and see!"

-

"_WHY, GOD? WHY ME?"_

"_It's all right… Matt-"_

"_Aw, Jesus, this sucks so bad! I just knew it would be a hit! I swear to God, I knew it! But those damned rules… Fine print! Have you ever heard of anything like that? I ask you! Who even reads those rubrics anyway? I thought they were guidelines, not rules! Oh… by the way, this is the Irai noon-hour school show… I'm Matt… I'm also ready to climb a clock tower and break out the ol' uzi."_

"…"

"_By the way, Lisa's here. Say hi, Lisa."_

"_Oh… hell-"_

"_Dude, this is fucking ridiculous. For those of you who don't know what happened, I'll fill you in on the details. In short, my portfolio breeched some kind of obscure 'no porn' rule or some shit… so I got revoked before I could even properly present! This is complete what-the-fuckery."_

"_Well, I thought they were a little graphic…"_

"_Graphic? It was ART! How is art graphic? I'll tell you what's graphic! Those pictures Julie took of lesbian poetry in motion! Really, and they banned ME! I hope she gets slammed with some obscure rule. Like, 'sorry, no Rosie O'Donnell cosplayers.' That'd show her."_

"_I think-"_

"_Wanna know what I think? I think it's racism!"_

"…"

"_That's right, I said it."_

"_Maybe-"_

"_So now I have to bust my ass within the next week to redo the entire thing for an entire LETTER lower than what I would originally get. Just ain't right, just ain't right."_

"…"

"_So… we have postcards."_

"…"

"…"

"… _Should we answer them…?"_

"_Eh."_

"…"

"…"

"_Are you su-"_

"_I'm gonna go get drunk. Man the airwaves, Lisa."_

"…"

-

It was after six in the afternoon on New Years Eve and the sun was setting behind a falling curtain of snow. The campus had been rather quiet all day, which was odd for a day on which there were no classes. Mello had earlier wondered where Matt had been and then he faintly remembered something… but then L came into the picture and distracted him from whatever path of euphoria he was on.

Mello made a small grunt in the back of his throat and wrapped his arms around L's neck. Their lips were melded together, tongues running over and across each other in order to help release some of the tension between their bodies. Finally, Mello broke away, only long enough to attempt to pull L's shirt over his head. L sat up on his knees and left Mello laying on the mattress amidst riled up comforters and sheets, throwing his shirt to the ground.

Mello grinned as his lover began to unzip his jeans. "Hey, where the hell is Near anyway?"

"Mm, I'm not sure. Didn't he say something about a nap?" L mumbled, sliding the jeans down his legs. When they joined his shirt on the floor, L leaned back down over the blond and placed his mouth to the crook of Mello's neck and the blond moaned happily, resettling his nails into L's back.

"I-I keep thinking," he whispered thoughtfully, "that there's something I'm forgetting…"

"Like what?" L asked, trailing his fingertips down Mello's torso. After a moment, Mello shuddered, closing his eyes, not wanting to think any longer.

"N-Noth… L…"

"What are you doing?"

Suddenly, both L and Mello stopped and blinked at each other, then turning to look towards the door where Near was standing, dressed in a black tuxedo. His hand was on the knob of the door and he had his head tilted towards the bed, a small pout decorating his features.

Mello laughed. "Hey, you, what're you so dressed up for? Tea party with your rabbit?"

L frowned at Mello.

Near ignored that comment and shut the door behind himself. "What in the world could you two be thinking? Get dressed, we don't have time for any of this. L, I'm surprised at you. We're supposed to be at the gallery right now and here you are-"

"Oh my God, I KNEW I was forgetting something," Mello wailed, tumbling out of bed.

L's expression was one of utter bewilderment as he jumped out of bed, his legs tangled in stained bed sheets. "I-I can't believe I forgot…"

Near held back the urge to impatiently tap his foot on the ground.

"Well, we still have time," L hummed, his thumb in his mouth.

Near nodded towards the digital clock on the bedside table and it blinked in large red writing, 6: 36 PM. "It starts at seven, doesn't it? And the building is on the other side of town."

"…"

"…"

L and Mello regarded each other before L slowly pulled his cell phone out of his discarded jean pockets and flipped it open.

"… Hello? Raito? Yes, I'm on my way. Traffic. Horrible traffic. Yes, I'm lying."

-

Raito sighed and shut his phone, sliding it back into his pocket. He looked around himself nervously at the well-lit room. There were curtains all over the walls, each hiding a piece of art made by L and, up at the front of the room where Wammy stood on a small stage, there was another curtain there. People were filing in fast, their coats dusted lightly with snow as one of the employees took their coats and hats at one of the entrances. Patrons with pockets almost as deep as Wammy's were very eager to indulge in L's art. After all, the man who was considered one of the greatest modern artists in the northern hemisphere was somewhat of a shut-in, locking himself inside the towers of the castle called Irai Academy. A chance like this to see his work on display and perhaps purchase some was very rare indeed.

Knowing all this, Raito considered L to be a complete idiot. How could he get so caught up in whatever-the-hell-he-was-doing that he didn't realize his own gallery that he'd been slaving over for the past few months was finally at hand? Raito was standing over by the whine table with Matsuda by his side, who was quite enamored by all the niceties of the place. The floor was coated in a glossy sheen and all of the windows were open, letting in the scenery of the snow falling outside and the moon a giant ornament somewhere off in the distance.

"Raito? Is there something wrong?" Matsuda asked, noticing the brunet's tired sigh earlier.

Raito looked at him and shook his head, his hand to his forehead. "No, no," he said, "it's just that Lawliet and Mello and Near are going to be late getting here and we're about to start in less than five minutes… I swear, he's always dumping his mess on my lap!"

Matsuda blinked as Raito told him to stay there and walked across the room, trying to avoid casual how-do-you-do's and social norms. He finally made it to the stage and climbed the three stairs to find Wammy with a tense, worried look on his face.

"Raito," Wammy cried, turning to him, "where in the world are those three? Everyone's been asking for L!"

"I know, it's just… well, they'll be a bit late. When I got off the phone with Lawliet, they were still at Irai."

Wammy looked slightly disturbed for a moment and then composed himself, straightening the coattails of his blazer. _That young man is going to receive quite the ear-full when all of this is over with. _Finally, he said, "All we can do is wait for him."

"Well, yes, but what about the guests?" Raito inquired.

"I'll instruct the waiters to put out more shrimp. The patrons won't know the difference."

"… Between shrimp and Lawl-"

"Trust me, Raito, I've been around the wealthy for many years."

"Yes, sir."

Raito stood there until Wammy gave the signal for more shrimp and, as the dean had predicted, the herds of rich people moseyed on over to the table, trying not to seem like hungry cattle. Out of the corner of his eye, Raito noticed Matt coming through the front door, goggles placed on his forehead. The hatcheck man harassed Matt a bit about leaving his goggles at the door but Matt finally got away, meeting with Raito in front of the stage.

"Yo, there you are! Can you believe that guy? He tried to steal my goggles!" Matt glared over his shoulder at the man who was now not paying him any attention.

Raito rolled his eyes and walked with Matt over to where he had left Matsuda at the wine table. "He was only trying to help you."

"Help, yeah, sure. Oh, hey, Matsuda!"

"Hi, Matt," Matsuda greeted cheerfully. He smiled at the redhead and handed him a glass of wine, which Raito frowned at, not wanting Matt to end up tipsy. Matsuda twiddled his thumbs and finally said, "I-I'm sorry about what happened. I heard about your project… I know you worked very hard on it."

Matt nodded somberly. "Thanks, man."

"Speaking of which, where's Lisa?" Raito asked.

"Eh? Oh, I dunno. I was gonna ask her to come but I forgot." He scratched the area under his goggle strap as Matsuda and Raito exchanged looks. "Anyway, it's all right because I turned in my replacement project. Those pictures I took of the girls in the bathroom earlier in the year seemed to do the trick. You know, I don't get it. How's that make the cut but not my other spread. I think the judges are pervs."

Raito groaned aloud. _This school's staff gives teachers everywhere a bad name!_

Matt looked at Matsuda. "How'd your exam go?"

Matsuda laughed, shrugging. "Oh, I'm not sure. I don't get the grade for another week still but I think I did all right… Professor Mikami kept glaring at me during the test so it was sort of hard to concentrate.

"Honestly, that man…" Raito rolled his eyes.

"So where're the men of the hour anyway?" Matt asked, refilling his glass.

"They're on their way."

"What, not here yet?"

"My sentiments exactly." Raito turned his head casually toward the door and his eyes widened upon finding L walking through the door with Mello and Near in tow. He redirected his gaze to the stage at Wammy who seemed to be overwhelmed with relief and hurried L on stage, whispering something to him. "They're _here_," Raito sighed.

Matt and Matsuda turned around just as L was handed the microphone. He looked highly uncomfortable with everyone's eyes on him, the patrons finally recognized that he had arrived and was not edible. Near and Mello were standing beside their lover awkwardly, that was, until they noticed Matt out in the crowd, waving enthusiastically at them accompanied by Matsuda. Raito gave them a smile and Near sighed, relaxing a bit. Mello stuck his tongue out at Matt and grinned.

"Ahem," L cleared his throat, pushing his other hand deep into the pocket of his black pants. "Thank you all for coming. I apologize for my tardiness. I've been looking forward to this showing for a while, not only to boost my ego but to have something else to strive for other than harassing my students in class day in and day out. Even though, out of that, I have emerged with two very bright students, whom I have commandeered for this project. Mello Kheel and Near River," he said, motioning to the two beside him. Mello grinned and Near blushed as the guests clapped politely and Matt made obscene noises in the back.

With that, L passed the microphone to Mello, who subsequently passed it on to Near without a second thought. Near blushed, flustered, and there transpired a small tiff which L dosed by telling Near to say something.

"Ah… um, yes, well… as my mentor said, thank you for coming. Mello and I helped Lawliet as best we could…" Near blushed harder when everyone peered at him through their tiny spectacles and whispered to each other. Near thought he heard the word 'tiny' float around. He was a bit surprised when the microphone was taken from him by Wammy, who smiled at him kindly.

He said, "The pieces have been revealed, please take a look." He gestured around the room and to everyone's surprise, all these wonderful portraits were up on the walls, staring down at them. They all made little clicking noises of appreciation and wandered around, gasping and awing at the paintings.

Near's eyes flew to the back of the room where the painting the three of them had worked on hung in the middle of everything like a lighthouse's beam in the middle of a storm. A smiled tugged at his lips. Finally, all the hard work was shown to the world. Admittedly, in the back of his mind, the shy boy he still harbored within himself blushed at how he was spread wide for everyone to see. But the person he was becoming looked at it in earnest and as he stepped off of the stage, wanting to go over there, he heard his name being called off in the distance.

He looked up and to the left and gasped soundlessly, his eyes widening. He stuttered, "G-G-"

"_Near_," Gevanni sighed as he ran forward and dipped down on one knee, wrapping his arms around the boy in an embrace. He pressed a swift kiss to Near's temple and hugged him tighter. "I'm so sorry we couldn't make it for your birthday. But when we were notified that you were going to be featured here, well, we just had to come… it's _so_ good to see you."

"G-Gevanni…" Near breathed, slowly bringing his arms up to hug his guardian. When he looked up, both Hal and Lester were standing in front of them, smiling widely. In Lester's arms were a large bouquet of sunflowers and as Gevanni stood again, Lester handed them to Near. Near blinked owlishly. "Where in the world did you get sunflowers in the wintertime?"

"Nothing's too difficult for you," Lester answered.

Hal smiled at him. "We're so proud of you; you are definitely on your way to becoming a great artist."

Near nodded, smiling uneasily. _Oh, good Lord, why…? Have they… no, surely they haven't seen it yet… Gevanni's still breathing… _He said, "How… how did you know I was working with L?"

"We received an invitation to the gallery, of course," said Gevanni.

"I see…"

"Hey, Near," said a voice and Near knew it to be Mello's even before the blond put his arm around the boy's shoulders. Near looked up to see Mello staring at his guardians with a bit of defensiveness and kept his eyes focused as he leant down and placed a firm kiss to Near's ear. "I didn't know you called your body guards to come."

"I did not."

"Hello, Mello," Hal said smoothly and she reached in her back pocket, a chocolate bar emerging in her hand. She handed it over. "A pleasure to see you."

Mello's eyes lit up as he took it. "Dude, it's chocolate!"

Hal smiled at Lester as if to say, _Tiger tamed. _

Gevanni pretty much ignored that little exchange and looked behind Near and Mello where something caught his attention. He held out his hand eagerly and took L's hand in a handshake, to Near's surprise. He had not know his teacher was there.

"Oh, Mr. L, congratulations," he said. "The art is beautiful. Thank you for using Near as one of your assistants."

L nodded, retracting his hand and slipping it back into his pocket. He looked down at Near and cracked a smile. "He was quite useful. I'm assuming you haven't seen the portrait he posed for, have you?"

"Not yet," Gevanni hummed, a finger to his chin as he looked around. Hal and Lester joined him in surveying the area and Near prayed silently.

"Well, um, I hope your relationship with Mello is going well," Hal said, seeming a bit uncomfortable and both men looked at her strangely. She cleared her throat and held out her hand to Mello. "I trust you've taken good care of Near."

Mello blinked and took her hand. "Yeah… I have…" He sent a glance towards L and then at Near, who was looking at L as well and blushed furiously.

"Yes." Gevanni peered over at Mello. "How _has_ it been going?"

"_Fine_," Mello said, leering. He sent a smirk L's way then and continued, "Actually, our relationship has been _flourishing_."

"Mello," Near whispered harshly.

L looked away disinterestedly.

Suddenly, breaking the tension, Matt came bursting over with Matsuda and Raito by his side. He seemed to completely bypass the three guardians and exclaimed to his three friends, "Dude, that picture is fucking awesome! L, can I have a wallet size? Please?"

"Matt, you douche!" Mello growled.

"Hush up, Mel, I bet you already have one!"

Mello rolled his eyes. "I don't need one, I can see it anytime I want."

Near gasped, embarrassed and L patted him on the head.

"Oh?" Gevanni inquired, looking towards Matt. "You've seen it? Could you show it to us?"

Matt blinked, recognizing the three. He ignored Gevanni's question and looked at L, Mello and Near. "Okay, who invited these guys?"

Lester frowned. "Don't call us 'these guys'!"

Matsuda noticed Near's bouquet and squealed happily, "Oh, what pretty flowers!"

Near nodded. "Thank you."

"Lawliet, what're you doing over here?" Raito asked, standing a little closer to L. "Go mingle with your guests, they all want to see you. It's not proper for you to stand in one spot."

"I am mingling," he said, watching the scene before him with interest.

"I don't mean with one group of people. Besides, shouldn't you want to go guard that painting… you don't want them seeing it…"

"Why not?"

"They will have a cow!"

"Let them have their farm animals," L said casually. "Near is proud of it."

"That's not-"

"Oh! Come on, you two, I think I see the top of Near's head!" Gevanni called back to his two counterparts as he sped walked into the crowd. He looked back at the real Near. "We'll be right back, all right?"

"W-Wait-" he began to shout but the three of them were already walking away. Near's eyes widened as he looked up at Mello and L. "What are we going to do? They're going to-"

All of a sudden, the lights were shut off inside the entire building and everyone gasped simultaneously, Near included. He reached out and grasped onto a hand, feeling the familiar span of L's spidery digits grasping his wrist, holding him in place.

"What's going on?" Matsuda asked, turning about wildly and swatting Raito in the face with his hair.

"Quick," said Gevanni to his counterparts, "secure a perimeter around Near!"

Hal rolled her eyes in the dark. "It's a faulty switch, not a raid."

"You don't know that!"

"Both of you be quiet," Lester said.

"Ah, it seems it's eight thirty," said L, ignoring the idiocy.

Mello's voice sounded, "The lights go off at eight thirty?"

"Yes. It's the other highlight painting."

Near made a small confused noise and wondered to himself, _Other…?_

There was a light then, bright in the darkness and startling to everyone, drawing their attention to the front of the room on the small stage. The curtain that had been hanging up behind the stage was gone, held by Wammy who stood somewhere off to the side and Near and Mello gasped jointly upon seeing the painting it had been masking.

Through the water that was swirling like a whirlpool around his body, Near found his eyes in the painting, the way they shone through the heavy, rolling waves like blind bubbles. His body was wrapped up in the tide on half of the large canvas - he was tied up, twisted in the water. his mouth open slightly and the water rushing into his body as if it were air. He survived. His arms were wrapped around his slim torso and his hair was lifted just out of the water, rolling on the waves. His legs were parted, swaying as if his body were limp and not his own and the white foam of the tide covered his groin.

His eyes seemed to be watching the other side of the painting where flames nearly boiled over the canvas. Mello's bottom lip dropped a little from his top as he studied himself bound to flames, every spark emitted from his pores, his eyes like two coals bursting of blue fire. His hair was tossed and flirted with, shining like the sun chased out of hiding by the dawn. Everything about him was rising, beginning, burning with the excitement of _possibility_. Possibility that was in the arch of his back, the curve of his hips, the plump coral lips that smirked as he threw his head back.

The two of them lay side-by-side, Near on his back and Mello on his side, their eyes wandering towards each other. It would seem to any normal onlooker like their eyes were searching for each other… as if they were lost, one in the world of water - calm and serene with just a hint of introversion under the surface of the waves. And the other, bound and gagged in the realm of fire - bold and bursting with too much energy, too hot to touch, to even come close to.

But really…

Really, their eyes were locked on one another. And the sky and sea were seeing eye-to-eye.

Near's breath caught in his throat as he looked up at Mello for a moment, finding Mello looking back at him with the same expression. At once, they both turned to L and like the twins they were, asked in unison, "_When_ did you-"

"Maybe now I'll finally get some sleep," he sighed, his shoulders sagging. "It wasn't easy working with you two until two in the morning and then working on this until seven every night for a few months."

Mello blinked disbelievingly. "You mean you… L, you idiot, don't sacrifice sleep like that for… for…" He searched for the right word, eyes flickering up towards the painting and then back at L. The lights slowly came back on and he found the man smirking tiredly.

"It's amazing," Near breathed, squeezing tightly onto L's hand. He fought back the domineering urge to kiss the man - _wanted_ to kiss him - for fear of what his guardians would say. At the moment, however, the three of them were soundly enamored.

"That's…" Hal blinked, fidgeting with her hands. "…Well, it's quite good, Mr. L. You captured both of them beautifully."

"Thank you."

"Right," Gevanni hummed, thinking. "It is very nice. Thank you for covering Near."

"You're welcome."

Lester nodded.

L returned the gesture.

"It came out better than I thought it would, Lawliet," Raito said, putting a congratulatory hand on his friend's shoulder.

Mello fumed. "Hey, Raito, you knew about that?"

"Yes, so what if I did?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise," L interjected.

Matsuda was still a pile of fanboying mess as he told L what he thought, which L paid little attention to. Raito silenced Matsuda a bit and asked him to come look at the other pieces with him. Already, there were patrons intercepting L from the rest of the group, asking for L to name his price. This was something L had expected but was not used to and Wammy came scurrying over to help defend the painter from the rabid clientele.

Gevanni seemed determined. "Now we've got to find that other painting! I wonder if it's as good as this one…"

Hal and Lester followed him once again and Near stood there, looking defeated.

Mello waved away the boy's apprehension. "Don't worry about it. This place is huge, he won't find it and when he comes back, we'll tell him it's a different one that we know is safe. Problem averted."

"Haha, Mel, your plans never work."

"Shut it!"

"Listen, Mello," Near said, blushing a bit. "I want to keep our relationship with L a secret from them. Just for now, it's best if they don't know. It'd be too much for them, they can barely swallow you and I together, don't you think?"

"Hell, I wasn't going to say anything."

"Good. Well, that takes care of that-"

"JUMPING JEHOSAPHAT…!"

Matt shrugged lightly as Near hid his face in his hands. "Hey, he found it."

-

**to be continued.**

-

A/N: _All right, the epilogue's next. Sheesh, that was hard to get out. Anyway, how about a birthday review, eh? _


	22. Epilogue

A/N:_ XD Thanks for the birthday wishes, guys. Yes, still accepting wives._

-

**Azure Paler than the Sky.**

**twenty-two.**

A few days after the gallery, Near's guardians left. However, their departure was much unlike last time with long goodbyes and hugs. They practically slunk off to the airport with a few quick goodbyes over the phone from a hotel room they had rented for the week. Since they saw Near's modeling debut, the three of them were quite unsure of what to say. Even Gevanni, the most vocal of the three, was at a loss for words until he got the idea in his head to accuse L of forcing Near into that position.

It was only when Mello said that he had been there the entire time and that nothing had been forced that Gevanni gave up, too confused and mentally exhausted to go on with his allegations. Lester didn't have much to add except for a grumble that Near was old enough to do what he wanted with his body. Hal herself was much too shocked and refused to look Near in the eye - as a matter of fact, whenever her gaze did drift towards the boy, she would immediately look away, not childish enough to blush but still quite uncomfortable. She was sure that image would follow her around for quite some time.

As the plane carried the three of them back to London, L looked up and found that _Circumstance of Midnight_, his portrait of Near and _Stratosphere_, his painting dedicated to his two lovers, were gone. They were taken by one of the wealthiest patrons that had attended the event for a large sum of money that was probably more than L made in a year. L had never before felt… regret from selling a painting. He made them, he sold them and received the money - it was all very circular and, furthermore, it was his job.

It's what he did best.

Still, he supposed he missed the painting even though the real Mello and Near remained by his side, day in and day out. Sometimes, L daydreamed of buying the painting back. If only for posterity. Though, he guessed, he had tons of pictures for that sort of thing - sentimentalism, as Matt called it and it was thanks to the redhead that L had all those pictures. Matt took them at the gallery, having snuck in his camera in his blazer. Now L had wallet sizes and he supposed that when classes started back up again for the Spring semester, L certainly wouldn't be bored with those types of photos in his back pocket.

_Had it been me_, Raito told L onetime, _I would not allow pictures of my art to be taken. And do not take those things out in class, for God's sake. _

Raito had become soundly more teacher-like as the winter break wore on with the prospect of gaining his rightful place back on the school board. He had worked much too hard for that title to be taken away from him. And, he promised himself, that if he ever did engage in another relationship with a student again - and no, Matsuda's image did _not_ pop into his head, thank you very much - he would take L's lead and refuse to give up his spot. The only difference would be that Raito was highly cautious and would never let his relationship out in the open as L did with his. Really, the bathroom walls were already freshly coated with gossip due to the three.

"It's so shameful," Raito said to himself on the seventh of January as he stood out in the snow, just off of the courtyard square. He looked around himself, his hands shoved into his hoodie pockets as he shifted his weight from foot to foot in the snow. He'd been standing there for about fifteen minutes as the students walked back and forth around him, all chirruping and moaning about their exam scores. Raito and Matsuda were supposed to meet here to go see his text scores together.

Well, they were supposed to meet about fifteen minutes ago but so far, Raito hadn't seen any sign of Matsuda. He sighed and turned around, taking his feet out of the spot and leaving deep indents in the snow. It was very possible that Matsuda had forgotten their appointment together that morning but then, afterwards, all of them were supposed to go out and celebrate, no matter what the outcome might be. Raito was sure Matsuda couldn't have forgotten about that.

_I'll just go look at them myself. Poor Matsuda_, he thought as he went to the giant board posted outside of the cafeteria, _he'll be so sad… but hopefully the festival will cheer him up. _

In a few minutes, the brunet shimmied through the crowd around the board and looked up at the long list of numbers. "600181," he hummed, scanning the numbers. Finally, he found it and his eyes widened.

-

Matsuda sighed as the hot water ran down his back and sore muscles. Contrary to popular belief, it was quite a lot of hard work, doing nothing all day but spending time with Raito and the others. This winter vacation had been one of the most eventful he'd ever spent at Irai or even in high school - those days in the tenth grade spent on the ground in just his socks, watching as his shoes hung from the power lines.

Now, though, he spent his time with Matt and Mello playing videogames in their dorm while Raito berated L on his teaching methods on the couch behind them. Near would either be inspecting the game and giving Mello tips on how to win - which would ultimately lead to his failure - or lay around idly on L's lap, allowing the older man to play with his toes. Matsuda had noticed L liked doing that a lot.

It was understandable, he guessed. After all, Near did have adorably tiny feet that looked like little pale fish in contrast to the darker hues of his jeans. Matsuda could hear as the game over screen flashed and Mello cursed loudly that Raito thought walking around barefoot was unhygienic. _There are diseases on the floor_, Raito had said and Matsuda looked at the floor interestedly, wondering about its hidden dangers.

Matsuda sometimes wanted to see Raito's feet. He bet they were well-manicured and lovingly tended to despite the brunet's aversion to feet in general. Matsuda thought about them as he looked down at his own feet planted in the tub, washed over with the water as it rushed towards the drain.

He stepped out onto the towel just on the other side of the tub and grabbed another towel to wrap around his hips when there was a loud knock on the front door. Matsuda perked up and looked towards the closed bathroom door, surprised.

"Uh… uh, coming!" Matsuda scrambled around and even though he had shouted out at the person, the knocking was still persistent and loud. For a moment there, it almost sounded like someone was kicking at the door and Matsuda ran into the living room, trying his best not to slip. He made it to the door and grabbed a hold of the handle, swinging it open. "H-Hello…? Oh! Raito!"

"Matsuda, where the hell were you?" Raito demanded, but for some reason he didn't seem too cross. "We agreed to meet at eleven to see your grades!"

"… Huh? What? Oh man, I'm sorry, I thought you said twelve! I-I totally forgot, ah, I'm such an idiot-"

"Eighty-six."

"-I… what?"

"Eighty-six," Raito repeated, nearly breathless as he took one of Matsuda's hands in both of his. It was still wet from the shower and it seemed as if Raito didn't notice Matsuda was completely naked save for a lone, white towel. "Matsu, you're not an idiot, you got an eighty-six on Mikami's exam! You did well!"

Matsuda's jaw dropped a bit and he blinked widely. "I… I passed…"

"And it's so much better than either of us expected," Raito admitted and then gasped right as he was pulled into a tight hug.

Matsuda pressed their bodies together and cried out, "Oh my God, that's amazing! I can't believe it, I may not fail this year after all! Oh, Raito, everything is thanks to you, you tutored me, you helped me, I just-"

Matsuda was silenced then as Raito pushed their lips together and advanced forward, pushing Matsuda back into the room. When the door was closed behind them, Raito smirked a little at Matsuda excited but flustered state and said into his ear, "I knew you were smart."

-

"You know what's really, really good?"

"What, Mello?"

"That chocolate pie that Matsuda made the other day," Mello said, sighing as he rolled over in bed. He placed his chest up against Near's back and threw his arm over the boy's side. His eyes had been closed until he felt a bounce of the bedsprings and looked up, watching as L climbed down to the bottom of the bed and got off, not bothering to wrap a sheet around his waist or grab his pants. Mello sort of liked it when he walked around like that.

L hummed, "Yes, it was pretty good."

Near shook his head and sighed into the pillow. "You two ate the entire thing and Matsuda had worked so hard on it."

"Hell, we left some!"

"There was one piece left."

"Mm, no, I do believe I ate that one."

"See, that was him, not me."

"…"

"Well, we should probably be going now," L said, ignoring the point Near was trying to make. He bent down to retrieve his pants and tugged them over his slim legs. As his back was turned, he heard some whispering coming over from the bed. He waited until he found his shirt and pulled it over his head before turning around to find both boys sitting up on the bed with the comforter draped across their legs and laps.

L blinked. "What is it?"

"… Mm," Near made a small noise and looked aside. "L, it's just… well, we were wondering if you've decided on who to choose…"

"Who to choose?"

Mello growled. "For your apprentice!"

"… Oh, that's right. I had forgotten about that, you know."

"You forgot?" Mello and Near echoed.

"And as well it should be forgotten. I would rather not have to have the burden of choosing between the two of you," he said curtly and looked towards the door. "You should be getting dressed now."

"L, come on, you know that's not right," Mello objected, shaking his fist at the man. "You said you'd pick!"

"I lied."

"… Wha-"

"L, please pick Mello," Near said calmly.

Both L and Mello looked at him with a bit of surprise but Mello, not one to be outdone, shot right back, "L, pick Near!"

"Honestly," L scoffed.

Near shook his head delicately and went to pick up his jeans and shirt, blushing at how his lovers' eyes followed him around the room. "I completely failed at being your assistant, L. I quit at a critical time. For that, I shouldn't even be considered."

"_I_ quit _way_ before Near and had to be threatened to return," Mello shouted, pointing an accusing finger towards L.

Near frowned. "Mello, are you challenging me?"

"Damn right I am! You should be his apprentice, Near."

"No, Mello."

"Yes, Near."

L groaned, "Do I get no say in this?"

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, interrupting whatever answer L was about to receive. Being the only one fully dressed in the room, L trudged over to the door and opened it, blinking at Matsuda and Raito standing there. Matsuda's hair was shining and clinging to his face as if he'd not been out of the shower for long and both young men's cheeks were flushed.

"Hello, L," Matsuda greeted, obviously in a good mood.

"Ah, you're right on time," L mused.

"Right on time, sure. Listen, we're going to be late if we don't get a move on, let's go collect Matt," Raito said, rolling his eyes. He jerked his thumb inside the room and asked, "Are the two of them ready to go?"

L blinked and leaned back to see, both Matsuda and Raito leaning forward and being nosy. They found that Near was completely dressed but that was soon to be changed if Mello's wandering hands weren't stopped. They were locked together, kissing, as Mello sat on the edge of the bed and held Near close.

"… They're arguing," L deadpanned.

Raito raised an eyebrow. "Really."

-

"_This is Matt with the Irai noon-hour radio show! Just to let you all know, classes start back up in a few days so this'll be my last broadcast until then. Everyone's still busy from snogging under the mistletoe so I haven't gotten very many postcards. Actually, I did sort of get one but it was a picture and not really a letter. Could be sort of sweet, though, if the porn was soft-core. _

"_All this left-over Christmas stuff is making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. What about you, Lisa?"_

"… _Oh. Uh, I-"_

"_By the way, the grades are all posted today, so, how'd you do?"_

"_A's across the board."_

"…"

"_Uh."_

"…"

"_Matt-"_

"_I GOT A FUCKIN' C PLUS!"_

"… _Aw, i-it's okay-"_

"_OKAY? Okay, she says! Man, I tell ya, kids these days. I'm behind Julie now in the running for the lead in our department… dammit. I'll have to work harder next semester. Actually, today me and the guys are going to a winter festival. It's supposed to be in celebration for me and Matsuda doing well on our midterms but since we both did terrible, it's not going to be much of a celebration…"_

"_He did badly?"_

"_Well, it's Matsuda."_

"…"

"_Besides that -"_

"_Matt!"_

"_Huh? Hey, Rai! What're you doing in here?"_

"_Come on, we have to get a move on. Did you forget where we're going today?"_

"_Hm? No, I was just educating the masses on it."_

"_What? They don't need to know-"_

"_Hi, Matt!"_

"_Hey, Matsu, s'up?"_

"_Am I on the radio right now?"_

"_Yeah, dude."_

"_Matt, let's get a move on!"_

"_All right, all right. Lisa, you're in charge while I'm away. Go nuts."_

"…"

"_Later."_

"… _Ahem. Welcome to Lisa's sexual counseling services…"_

-

"So, who's car are we taking?"

"We can't fit six people into one car, we'll be cramped," Raito explained as the six of them walked down to the parking lot. He waved his hand flippantly and Mello made a side-joke of Raito's subtly flamboyant nature which Raito complained loudly about. "L, can you contain him?"

"Hey, I'm not a pet!"

"Down, boy," L said, eyeing Mello.

Mello frowned and Near turned away, hiding a small smirk.

Matt sighed longingly, looking up at the frosty sky. "Man, this completely sucks."

"What sucks?" Raito asked.

"This was supposed to be a happy trip but I got a C plus on my midterm…"

Matsuda gasped and placed a comforting hand on Matt's shoulder. "Aw, it's okay. You can still have fun even if you didn't get the score you wanted."

"… Huh? What score did you get?"

"Eighty-six."

"… Aw, for…"

Mello laughed at his friend's pain and confusion and Matsuda continued to pry at what was so wrong with that.

"Excuse me," Raito cleared his throat, "we still have that car dilemma. Matt, would you mind driving yours and then we'll have L drive his?"

"Sounds fine to me," L said.

"L," Near said, looking up at the man, "have you considered what I said? About choosing Mello?"

"I'm not commenting on that."

"Pick Near," Mello growled.

L rolled his eyes.

They reached the parking lot and Matt jumped into the driver's seat of his convertible and was whining about placement when Matsuda and Raito climbed in. The engine started up and L, Mello and Near were standing to the side of L's Mercedes, unmoving. Raito rolled his eyes and rolled down the window on the passenger's side, calling to them, "What's the hold up, you three?"

He was ignored as both boys were engrossed in what L held in his hand. Mello raised an eyebrow and asked skeptically, "You're kidding?"

"No," L said, looking down at the quarter he held. "Tails, it's Mello. Heads, it's Near."

"Haha, Near, you got head."

"…"

L smirked. "Ready?"

-

**end. **

-

A/N: _Ah, yes. It ended that way because there is a third one. This series is a lot like Harry Potter, with their years in school. So, yes, no tears, okay? Um, also… don't ask me WHEN I'll be doing the third. Because I dunno. But I have the plot all together anyway. _

_Further notes… I'm starting college. Don't expect super fast updates but do expect more per update. Got it? Hm, I'm looking for a Beta. Someone who will push me to be my very best and who is COMPLETELY open-minded. They must also be a grammar Nazi. And they must push me to work on my problem areas. _

_Oh, I want them to be available, too._

_If you fit the bill, tell me so and I'll contact you through PM. One last note, I'm interested in having some dramatic readings done, so please contact me for more information on that. _

_See you next time._


End file.
